


Sly Cooper: It Takes a Cooper

by Author_Of_Insanity101



Category: Sly Cooper (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-05-17 18:16:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 64,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5880868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Author_Of_Insanity101/pseuds/Author_Of_Insanity101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>3 years ago, Master Thief Sly Cooper without a trace. Now, a red raccoon named Sandra Cooper appears claiming to be Sly's descendant, and provides the gang the whereabouts of their friend. With Carmelita in tow, they set off for Ancient Egypt to find Sly and bring him home. However, Is Sandra just doing this out of respect for the Cooper name, or does she have her own agenda?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Getting the Gang Back Together

Paris, France. A beautiful city, full of architectural marvels, artistic wonders, and notorious criminals. For years, the city had been plagued by hundreds upon hundreds of criminals hoping to strip Paris of its hard earned treasures. However, crime has been quite lax as of late due to the efforts of INTERPOL's own Inspector Carmelita Fox.

Carmelita had been throwing herself into her work, bringing down criminals at almost record paces. She may have been fighting to stop crime, but in every minute of her free time, she could usually be found out on the harbor, a flashlight in one hand, and a torn, water-stained photo in the other. In the photo was her, and a master thief raccoon called Sly Cooper.

Cooper had been her Moriarty for almost 11 years. The first time they had met, she knew he was crooked. However, there was something about him that made him stand out from the normal criminal element. She had soon made it her life's work to track Sly and his friends Bentley and Murray down and bring them to justice. However, the clever raccoon always was one step ahead of her, even if he did risk arrest to attempt to flirt with her.

As the years went by, Carmelita had begun to see a different side of Sly. She had even teamed up with him to bring down criminals like Clockwerk, Arpeggio, Neyla, and Dr. M. The first time, she repaid him by giving him a ten second head start. He had waited until the last second, then kissed her, handcuffed her to a catwalk, and then promptly escaped. The second time, he offered to come quietly if she let his partners walk. She had allowed that, and even enjoyed a nice "date" with the arrested Sly in the Helicopter before he escaped. The third time, Sly had apparently gotten amnesia and Carmelita had told him he was her partner "Constable Cooper". For a wonderful eight years, the two were a real couple, and those days were by far the happiest of Carmelita's life.

Unfortunately, a raccoon can't shed its mask and three years ago, Sly fell into bad habits once more. He revealed that he never truly had amnesia and had simply faked it in order to get close to Carmelita. Initially betrayed, Carmelita soon came to terms with Sly's penchant for thievery and helped him once more to defeat the villainous Le Paradox and save the Cooper family line. However, unlike their previous team-ups, this one did not go as planned. In the aftermath of the battle, Sly had vanished without a trace. No one knew where, or when, to find him.

Still, she didn't give up. Once a month, Carmelita would meet with Bentley to share notes and theories. Still, they had nothing. Three years had passed, but neither of them were willing to give up hope. They believed in Sly, and they knew that one day he would return, because he was, after all, a Cooper.

…

Carmelita sat in her office, fatigue having forced her to get some rest. Laid out on the couch she kept for that purpose, she stared at the waterlogged photo, now creased from being folded into her pocket since she found it. It had been taken not long after Sly "got amnesia" and became her partner. They had started officially dating and Sly had convinced her to take the picture in front of the Eiffel Tower. He had surprised her with a red rose, then kissed her just as the camera flashed. It was a photo he had carried with him throughout his time as Constable Cooper, and even during their adventures through time.

Sighing in sadness, Carmelita set the photo aside, then turned over and looked over at her desk. On it was one of Sly's markers, more specifically, the origami one he had made when they first met. There was also a bottle of champagne. Early on in her career, she had purchased a bottle of champagne and had held onto it for when she finally arrested Sly. That bottle was used to toast to their relationship after they'd been together for about a year. This bottle, Sly's favorite brand and year, Carmelita planned to use it to celebrate Sly's return to her.

Rolling over on the couch once more and using her jacket as a pillow, Carmelita began to nod off.

"I'll find you, ringtail…" she whispered, "I swear it…."

Sleep finally took her as everything went black. Unfortunately, her sleep was soon interrupted by the crackling of electricity. Suddenly awake, she turned over on her side, instinctively reaching for her shock pistol as a ball of electricity began to form in the middle of her office.

"What's going on?" she muttered.

The room was suddenly illuminated and with a loud crack a figure fell into the office, landing with a crash right onto Carmelita's desk. Blinking away the spots from her eyes, Carmelita faced the figure. The room had been darkened by the strange ball of electricity, so Carmelita could only make out a silhouette, but what she saw took her breath away.

The figure was a raccoon from what Carmelita could tell. They wore a cap, a hoodie, cargo pants, and boots, but most notably, they carried a very distinctive cane. Carmelita dropped her gun in absolute shock, falling back onto the couch.

"Cooper?" she asked in amazement. "Sly, is that you?"

The figure turned and stood up, remaining in the shadows.

"Sorry…" The figure told her in a very distinctive female voice. "But I'm not Sly Cooper."

Carmelita immediately retrieved her gun, grabbing the intruder and thrusting them into the light of the window. Her initial belief of the figure being a raccoon was correct, but this one had odd colored fur. Where Sly's fur was your typical grey with black stripes, this raccoon had a reddish tinge to her fur. Her outfit resembled that of Sly's, right down to the navy blue and gold color scheme, the black mask over her eyes, even the cap might as well have been Sly's own. The only distinct differences were that she carried a brown satchel rather than a red backpack, and she had long, wavy black hair spilling out from under the cap.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?!" Carmelita demanded, jamming the shock pistol into the red raccoon's chest.

The raccoon put her gloved hands up, gripping the Cooper Family cane in her right one. Once again, the likeness to Sly's own cane was uncanny, only this one had a metal pole that shimmered in the light. Seeing the iconic cane made Carmelita both heartbroken and angry at the same time. If this raccoon was some sort of Cooper Copycat, she was gonna find herself sharing a cell block with Le Paradox or Miss Decibel.

"Whoa, calm down, Inspector." The raccoon told her, attempting to pull the inspector from her emotional roller coaster. "I swear to you, I mean you no harm. I just came to talk."

"You come in here dressed like a Cooper," Carmelita snarled, "carrying that knock-off cane, and you expect me to believe-"

"Hey. This isn't a knockoff." The raccoon interrupted defensively. "This is the genuine Cooper Family Cane."

"Oh really?" Carmelita asked, her voice seething with disbelief and anger.

"Yes, it is, because I'm a Cooper." The raccoon explained.

Carmelita was skeptical, but she slowly released the raccoon, keeping her shock pistol aimed straight at her just in case. The girl straightened her hoodie, then faced Carmelita. She swirled her staff the way Sly used to, catching it and lifting the brim of her cap with her thumb.

"My name is Sandra. Sandra Cooper. I'm Sly's descendant. His Great-Great-Granddaughter if you want specifics."

Any normal person would have written "Sandra" off as a loon, but Carmelita had done some time traveling herself. She had met several generations of Sly's ancestors from all points in history, right down to the stone-age. This alone led her to believe that Sandra being Sly's descendant wasn't so far-fetched. Still, she wasn't just about to trust some stranger.

"If that's true, then prove it." Carmelita insisted.

Sandra nodded, then reached into the satchel hanging across her shoulder, slowly pulling out none other than the Thievius Raccoonus, a book past down from Cooper to Cooper. It was a bit bigger than the one Carmelita was familiar with, and much older, but there was no mistaking that it was, indeed, the Cooper Family book. Sandra flipped through the pages until she reached what she was looking for, then began reading.

"Who could ever forget the lovely Carmelita?" Sandra recited, tracing a finger along the page as she read. "It looks like we're not going to be friends anymore. Now that Clockwerk's death ray is out of commission, we're back to playing cops and robbers. I thought for sure she was gonna slap the handcuffs on me right then and there, but instead, she was true to her word, and gave me a ten second head start. Rather than bolt like she thought I would, I stood there, watching her as she counted down. I could see the confusion on her face, and chuckled as she stumbled over three and two. Before she could reach one though, I darted in for a quick kiss."

The memory came back to Carmelita and she found herself brushing her fingers against her lips, remembering the kiss like it was yesterday. She had never told anyone that, and Sly only ever talked to his friends Murray and Bentley. That, plus that infamous book sealed Sandra's story. Carmelita lowered her gun, approaching Sandra.

"You really are a Cooper." She whispered. "Then… Sly's alive?"

Sandra gave a nod and Carmelita felt a weight lift from her shoulders. She would never tell Bentley or Murray this, but she had begun to fear that the reason Sly hadn't returned was because he was dead. However, if Sandra truly was Sly's descendant, then he was alive, and that meant he was coming back.

"That no-good, low-down, dirty rotten thief….." Carmelita said, happy tears trickling down the side of her face. "God, Sly's alive."

Sandra let her cry, gently hugging her and letting her come to terms with some of the best news she had heard in three years. After a few minutes, she stopped crying and Sandra released her.

"That's right, and I know where to find him." Sandra quipped.

Armed with this info, Carmelita straightened herself up and put on her cop face, wiping away the last of her tears.

"Alright Cooper, where is he?" She asked in a voice she reserved for interrogations.

"Not so fast." Sandra insisted. "Where Sly is, we're gonna need the rest of the Cooper Gang's help if we're gonna bring him home."

Carmelita's initial fatigue vanished altogether as she grabbed her coat and pulled it back on. She holstered her shock pistol and refolded the photo back into her pocket. Ready for action, she smiled her first genuine smile in three years.

"Good thing I know where to find the brains of the Cooper Gang." She replied. "Follow me."

…

Bentley's London laboratory had grown since Sly's departure. He had many new inventions, most of them tracking systems he had tried to use to find Sly. Still, he had no luck. He had even scanned over the Thievius Raccoonus, searching each ancestor's page for any sign of Sly in their entries. Still, he hadn't found him.

As with every night, Bentley rolled his wheelchair up out of the main part of the lab over to the living quarters. He passed row after row of photographs of himself, Sly, and Murray throughout their adventures dating back to their orphanage days. Other walls were covered in newspaper cutouts of the gang's exploits as well as surveillance photos of Sly during his Constable Cooper days.

As he passed by his ex-girlfriend Penelope's room, he was surprised to find the door slightly ajar and the light burning. Considering Penelope was still at large, it was possible she was in there. His chair automatically prepared his infamous dart gun as he pushed the doors open. When he saw who was inside, he blinked in surprise.

"Evening Bentley." Carmelita waved from where she sat on Penelope's bed.

"You really need to beef your security system." A red raccoon with black hair called as she closed the room's window. "I mean, you are part of one of the greatest thief gangs in this day and age. You think you'd know how to keep people out."

Bentley's wheelchair aimed his dart gun at the raccoon. She seemed to sigh in slight annoyance as she raised her arms.

"Again with this?" she grumbled. "I guess this is how Sly felt when you guys traveled through time."

"How do you know about that?" Bentley demanded. "And more than that, who are you-"

"-and what are you doing here." The raccoon interrupted. "I just went through this with Carmelita. Do I really have to do this again?"

Bentley was just about to dart her just for the heck of it when Carmelita gently pushed the dart gun down.

"Bentley, don't. She's called Sandra Cooper. She's Sly's descendant."

Bentley raised an eyebrow, but as he examined the raccoon more closely, he could see the resemblance. The way she held herself, her impatient attitude, and her outfit and cane practically screamed Cooper. Also being the one who co-invented time travel, this raccoon being Sly's descendant was an easy pill for him to swallow. He stowed the dart gun and wheeled closer to the raccoon.

"Sly's descendant?" he asked.

"Great-Great-Granddaughter if you want specifics." Sandra replied as she lowered her arms. "But that's not very important. What is important is that we need your help."

"Sandra has information as to the whereabouts of Sly." Carmelita explained. "According to her, we're gonna need Murray."

A red flag shot up in Bentley's mind and he eyed Sandra suspiciously.

"Wait a minute, how do you know where Sly is?" he asked. "I have been literally searching everywhere for even the slightest trace of him and I've found nothing. And yet you just show up claiming to be from the future and that you know where my best friend is. I don't buy it."

Sandra groaned audibly. This was not going as smoothly as she had hoped. Facing the turtle, she did her best to keep her impatience in check.

"Look, I swear to you I will explain, but we need to get Murray first and bring him." Sandra insisted.

Bentley crossed his arms stubbornly, matching his gaze with Sandra. For a good two minutes, they just stared at each other, beads of sweat running down the sides of their faces. Finally, Bentley cracked. He threw his hands up in the air as he began rolling towards the door.

"Alright, alright. We'll get Murray." He relented. "But after that, you better tell us the whole story."

Sandra sighed in relief as she and Carmelita followed him down.

"Don't worry." She promised. "You won't be able to get me to shut up."

…

Murray had gone into the professional wrestling business, and had quickly established himself as the reigning champion of the ring. His signature move, the "Thunder Flop", knew no rival, and his strength no true opponent. Despite the success of his career and multiple offers to go national, Murray had insisted on remaining in Europe. Though he told the press that his decision to remain was due to personal reasons, Bentley and Carmelita both knew he wanted to stick close for if and when Sly returned.

Sandra, Bentley, and Carmelita found Murray in Paris' convention center, preparing for a fight against Australia's champion Hugh Jackal. The trio arrived just in time for the first bell to go off, signaling the beginning of the fight.

In the left corner, they could see a very large, fat hippo that could only have been Murray. He had his signature red wrestler's mask pulled over his face with his blue shirt, white scarf, and leather belt with Sly's insignia serving as his costume. In the right corner, a very large, very aggressive jackal with a pair of black wrestling shorts stood snarling at Murray as if daring him to move.

"Murray's looking good." Carmelita commented. "He seems like he's lost weight."

"Sly's disappearance hit him hard." Bentley explained. "He probably stopped eating so much food in order to increase his strength for the next time we see Sly."

Sandra watched as the wrestling match began, an odd smile on her face.

"The entries in the book don't give you guy's justice." She remarked. "You two really are the best friends a Cooper could have… kinda reminds me of my gang…"

"You have a gang?" Bentley asked.

Sandra kinda went silent, but before the other could press her, the crowd let out a loud cheer. The three turned back to the fight to see, as all of them had expected, Hugh Jackal sprawled out on the floor of the ring. You could practically see the tweeting birds circling above his head.

"That didn't take long." Sandra remarked.

"He beat his old knockout record by 1.83 minutes." Bentley calculated. "Astounding."

All across the arena, fans were calling out from the stands, chanting the same two words.

"THUNDER FLOP! THUNDER FLOP!"

Sandra perked up at the chant and leaned in closer.

"The Thunder Flop? I've read about that move. He defeated Rajan with that move during Operation: Wet Tiger."

"Yep." Bentley replied. "There's a reason he's the brawn of our group."

Down in the ring, Murray climbed up onto one of the posts and flexed his large arms.

"THIS FIGHT BELONGS TO 'THE MURRAY'!" he declared loudly.

He then jumped off of the post and belly flopped right onto his opponent with an almost deafening crash. Even from the high seats that the trio had, they could hear Hugh Jackal's bones cracking from Murray's weight and the sheer impact of the attack. Sandra winced and flinched at the sounds, then smiled again.

"I've always wondered what that move was like in person."

As the announcer pronounced Murray the winner, the trio made their way backstage. The security personnel went to stop them, but Carmelita flashed her Interpol badge and got them all past. They waited in Murray's private locker room just as he came in. The second he laid eyes on them, he got this big grin on his face.

"Bentley!" he shouted, plucking the turtle from his wheelchair and into a nearly shell crushing hug. "It's so good to see you!"

Bentley winced in pain, but didn't cry out. Instead, he did his best to return the hug until Murray put him back in his chair. The hippo then turned to Carmelita and smiled. He hugged her as well, albeit, not so tightly.

"You too Carmelita." he added. "Long time no chase.

Carmelita accepted the hug with only a small wince, then gave a small nod of greeting. When Murray turned to Sandra, his eyes widened a bit.

"Sly?" He asked.

Once more shaking her head, Sandra quickly explained who she really was, then braced herself for Murray's attempt to threaten her. Instead, he just smiled widely.

"Sly's descendant? That's AWESOME!"

Sandra was shocked that Murray had accepted her story so easily, but decided not to think about it too much and just continued her explanation.

"Okay. Long story short, I know where Sly is and -"

Murray grabbed Sandra out of the blue, lifting her off the ground and bringing her face to face with the hippo. His eyes had an almost desperate gleam to them as he shook her.

"You know where Sly is?!" He demanded. "Really?!"

Sandra met Murray's eyes, half afraid the hippo would crush her in his hands if she didn't say what he wanted to here. Lucky for her, she really did have the info she claimed to have.

"Yes." She replied, though her voice was a bit raspy from the grip Murray had on her. "I know exactly where he is."

Murray hugged Sandra so tight that the raccoon's eyes nearly bulged out of her skull. Bentley and Carmelita quickly attempted to try and free Sandra from Murray's grip as he cried in joy.

"Thank Heavens!" He practically sobbed. "Sly's alive!"

"Yes..." Sandra wheezed, "But... if you...don't let me... go... I can't... tell you...where... he-"

Almost as quickly as he had grabbed her, Murray released Sandra. She fell to the ground gasping and coughing trying to regain the air she had lost. As she recovered, Murray pulled her to her feet.

"Well?" he asked. "Where is he?"

Sandra leaned against her cane trying to steady herself.

"Let's get somewhere a bit more private. Then I'll tell you the whole story."

Murray smiled, then ushered the group towards the large parking garage. In his designated spot was a van the entire group recognized. The blue paint was still as bright as the day they got it, the bright flames decorating the sides. On the front, serving as a bumper decoration and a battering ram was a large version of Sly's insignia.

"The Cooper Van." Sandra gushed like a fan girl meeting her favorite celebrity. "Oh man, the stories this van could tell if it could talk."

"I am actually working on an A.I. system for the van to aid us in our adventures, but it's still just an idea." Bentley added.

"Alright you thieves." Carmelita interrupted. "Times wasting and Sly's waiting, so let's get in and get to your hideout so we can find Ring-tail and bring him home."

Murray and Bentley both kinda paused, looking at Carmelita a bit sheepishly.

"What?" she demanded.

"Look Carmelita…" Bentley explained, rolling over to her. "We know you wanna help Sly, but you're still a cop. And we're still criminals"

"Yeah." Murray added. "If you learn where our hideout is, you can use that info to arrest us."

Carmelita could see their point, but that didn't mean she had to accept it.

"I'm helping you find Sly." She declared. "That's not gonna change, so whether you like it or not, I'm coming with."

"We know…." Bentley replied hesitantly. "But, we can't just let you…. You know…"

Carmelita understood what was going on and though it annoyed her to no end, she sighed.

"Fine." She grumbled. "Just don't shoot me in the butt like you did Grizz."

Bentley's dart gun, which was still primed from earlier, had been slowly working its way behind Carmelita. With a soft hiss, the dart went flying into her neck and she passed out instantly. Murray caught her before she fell and gently placed her in the van's passenger seat. As he buckled her in, Bentley turned to Sandra.

"And as for you, I just don't trust you."

Sandra shrugged, having expected this from the beginning. She opened the door to the van and sat down on the floor.

"Sly's been missing for three years." She said as she set her cane to the side. "Trust me, I understand how losing a friend can make you gain trust issues. Go on ahead."

There was another hiss as Bentley shot Sandra in the neck as well. She didn't even try to fight and simply laid down on the floor of the van as blackness overtook her.

…

Carmelita and Sandra began to come to around the same time. Carmelita had been placed on the couch in the hideout, a warm blanket draped over her. Sandra was in the arm chair next to her, a different blanket over her. They appeared to be in the main room of the hideout, considering the room was dominated by a large table with three chairs placed haphazardly around it and the different mounds of schematics and plan drafts all across it.

"You awake?" Sandra called as she gently shrugged the blanket off of her.

"Yep…." Carmelita replied as she checked to make sure she still had her shock pistol. "And I'm gonna get back at that turtle one of these days."

As they shook off the last of the effects of Bentley's darts, they looked around. Bentley and Murray were nowhere to be seen, much to Carmelita's surprise.

"Where are they?" she wondered aloud.

"Probably down in the garage making sure that the van's in tip top condition." Sandra replied, grabbing her cane from where it was leaning against the wall. "Let's go look for them."

Carmelita got this mischievous smile on her face, one that Sandra quickly picked up on.

"I've waited over a decade to find Cooper's Paris hideout. Now that I'm here, I'm going to take a look around and see what I can find."

Sandra shrugged, also wanting to do the same thing.

"Knowing Bentley, he's probably hidden anything incriminating or location oriented." She pointed out.

"I have to try." Carmelita replied, making her way through the safe house.

"Couldn't agree more." Sandra concluded.

The Cooper Gang had many different safe houses all over the world, but Paris France was always their home, and the décor proved it. There were shelves upon shelves of small treasures brought back as souvenirs from their travels, not just across the world, but through time as well.

There were also a collection of raccoon shaped mannequins with different costumes Sly had used to sneak into various places. There was the tuxedo he had stolen when he and Carmelita had their first dance. There was his Venetian guard costume, complete with the ridiculous golden mask. His ace's pilot costume and wedding planner outfits were also on display, as well as his "Cantankerous" Tim costume and the General Tsao costume he wore to trick Carmelita.

Bringing up the rear was Sly's Samurai armor from feudal japan, a costume Carmelita had not seen before since she hadn't been present for that stage of the adventure. However, she got a big kick out of the jailbird costume, a black and white striped jumpsuit complete with a large ball and chain.

"I wish I could have seen Sly in that costume." She chuckled.

"It was the only way he could get to 'Tennessee Kid' Cooper and save him." Sandra explained. "The one time he let the law catch him."

"What about when he surrendered himself to me?" Carmelita asked.

"There's a difference between surrendering and letting yourself get caught." Sandra clarified. "It's a Cooper thing."

The Sabre-tooth costume was very well preserved, most likely Bentley's handiwork. The archer's costume was right beside it, followed finally by, as Sandra put it, the Aladdin costume. Leaving the costume room, the girls found themselves in the arcade room, complete with a few old arcade machines most likely found and tinkered with by Bentley so they wouldn't need any coins. The ping-pong table laid dusty from unused, mostly because it was always Sly against Bentley since Murray didn't have the coordination to play.

"These guys really made this place a home." Carmelita mused. "I guess that's why they didn't want me to know where it was."

"So… you still gonna get back at Bentley for the dart?" Sandra questioned.

Carmelita shrugged.

"We'll see…. Maybe when we have Sly back."

Figuring the self-guided tour was over, the girls made their way down into the garage, where Bentley and Murray were in the middle of checking the electronics system set up in the van. However, when they heard Carmelita and Sandra come in, they set what they were doing aside.

"You're awake!" Murray called.

"I was worried I used too much tranquilizer on you two." Bentley added.

"We're good." Sandra replied. "But we should probably get down to business."

"Right." Carmelita agreed. "Sly's waited long enough for us to come get him, and frankly, I'm ready to have that ringtail back."

Everyone agreed and made their way back upstairs.

…

The four of them gathered around the usual planning table as Sandra started her tale.

"3 weeks ago back in my time, archaeologists discovered the tomb of Slytunkhamen I, the writer of the Thievius Raccoonus. INTERPOL immediately had the site guarded for potential thefts, and they even put my favorite agent on the case."

"You have a favorite agent in INTERPOL?" Carmelita asked.

"Of course. I get that from my Great-Great Grandfather." Sandra replied. "His name is Garret Lupine, a really cute mountain wolf and one of their top agents. He's been obsessed with me since I slipped out of his grasp when I stole the Star of Kilimanjaro right under his cute nose."

Bentley gave a very loud cough, which reminded Sandra of where she was.

"Sorry…. Where was I?" she asked. "Oh yeah. Tomb of Slytunkhamen, INTERPOL on the case, and of course, me and my gang rob the tomb of any and all valuables, including my ancestor's sarcophagus. We give Slytunkhamen a Cooper funeral by leaving his sarcophagus in his part of the Cooper Vault and start going through our new goodies."

"Wait…. You stole from your own ancestor?" Carmelita questioned.

"No. We stole from the corrupt tomb raiders pretending to be archaeologists who only discovered Slytunkhamen tomb because they were searching for his cryptiles." Sandra clarified.

The Cooper gang and Carmelita all looked at Sandra confused and the red raccoon shook her head.

"Before he wrote the Thievius Raccoonus, Slytunkhamen I inscribed his earlier adventures onto slabs of stone my gang and I dubbed cryptiles." Sandra informed them. "They have secrets no Cooper knows about to up until my time period. I was pouring over their information when I came across this one particular cryptile."

Sandra reached into her satchel and pulled out a large package wrapped in thick cloth.

"While most of Skytunkhamen's cryptiles spoke of thefts and how he pulled them off, this spoke of a 'raccoon traveler from afar' who came bearing a 'Shepard's crook-like weapon'. Sound familiar?"

Of course it sounded familiar. In fact, once Sandra unwrapped her cryptile, the picture engraved upon it only sealed the deal. The figure was a raccoon dressed in a blue shirt with a golden collar, blue gloves with golden rims, a blue hat, and of course, the Cooper Family Cane.

"It's Sly!" Murray exclaimed.

"It's really him!" Bentley shouted. "He's in ancient Egypt!"

"Circa 1350 B.C. if I remember my Cooper family history correctly." Sandra added.

Sandra soon found herself being dog-piled by Murray as he hugged her, happy tears pouring from his eyes. Bentley examined the tablet, smiling for the first time in a long time. As Sandra attempted to free herself from Murray's hug, Carmelita traced her fingers along the carving, tears welling up in her eyes as well.

"Sly Cooper…. I've finally found you…."

Sandra finally managed to get Murray off of her after about seven minutes of rib crushing hugs. She dusted herself off, and then turned back to Bentley.

"Now that you know where to find him, we can take the Time Machine back to ancient Egypt, find Sly, and bring him home."

"Good thing we kept it installed just in case." Murray commented.

"You're telling me." Bentley replied. "We can use your cryptile as the artifact to take us to that era."

"That's why I brought it." She replied, handing the stone over to Bentley. "Just make sure I take it with me when I leave. That is technically from the future."

Bentley gave a nod as he fired up the time machine. Murray got behind the wheel as Carmelita climbed into the van. Sandra slipped in next to her, facing the INTERPOL agent.

"Carmelita Fox… Best police inspector for INTERPOL…. And here you are, about to aid a gang of thieves to rescue one of the best thieves your time has ever known."

Carmelita shrugged.

"Sly's more than just a thief…." She commented.

"I know." Sandra replied. "You want him back probably more than either Bentley or Murray."

Carmelita allowed herself to nod. These past three years had been hard, and it would be good to go back to the way things were, back to Sly doing his thing, the thrill of the chase. Back to their old game of cops and robbers as Sly would say.

"I'm ready to have my no-good lowdown thief back."

With that comment, Bentley wheeled himself over to the van and Murray quickly put him inside. Closing the doors and starting the engine, the Cooper gang, Carmelita, and Sandra all braced themselves as electricity sparked around the van, pulling them into the void of space and time.

"To Egypt!" Murray shouted.

"To 1350 B.C.!" Bentley called.

"To Sly!" Sandra added.

With a final crack, the van and all of its passengers disappeared, leaving the Cooper Paris Hideout empty.


	2. Walk Like an Egyptian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang arrives in Egypt, but tension is still high between Bentley and Sandra. More than that, the appearence of an old enemy threatens to make this rescue mission a whole lot harder.

_Ancient Egypt, 1350 B.C._

The desert sun beat down on the time travelers as they arrived at their destination. The desert sands surrounded them on all sides and through the hazy heat, they could make out the HUGE pyramids, as well as the Jackal-headed sphinx, poking through the sparse clouds that dotted the sky. Carmelita almost immediately shed her jacket, tying it around her waist while Sandra rolled up her sleeves.

"That's the capital city." Bentley quickly supplied. "Slytunkhamen's secret base, as well as wherever Sly's been hiding these past three years, have to be down their somewhere."

"Well, we're gonna need to establish a safe house and stash the van before we do anything searching." Sandra told them.

"Good idea." Carmelita agreed. "We need a base of operations, then we start reconnaissance."

Without another word, Murray drove the van as close to the city as he could, then killed the engine and pushed it the rest of the way. The gang found an abandoned shop stall and quickly hide the van inside of it and cover it with a tarp. They then took shelter in the building right next to the stall.

"Perfect." Bentley declared as he begins setting up their hideout. "I'll start setting up here."

"Let me know how I can help." Carmelita offered.

"You can help me connect my system to the van's power battery. That'll give me the juice I need to get our operation up and running."

As the gang began setting up, Sandra looked out the rough window out at the Egyptian landscape. She had this faraway look in her eye, as if she wasn't quite there. Carmelita looked over for a minute to see Sandra pulling a photo out of her hoodie pocket. Like the one she had of her and Sly, it was well worn and creased. In the photo was a slightly younger version of Sandra with what looked like a young, muscular bear cub and a small koala. They were laughing in the photo and smiling widely, the koala dangling off of the bear’s arm with Sandra placing a pair of peace signs. Despite the obviously happy moment displaying the photo, Sandra seemed deeply saddened as she looked at it.

"Sandra?" Carmelita called.

The red raccoon stowed the photo at almost lightning speed as she turned around.

"Yes?" she asked, forcing a smile on her face.

Carmelita wanted to ask her about the photo, but it didn't seem like the moment. Instead, she picked up Sly's spare binoc-u-cam and handed it to Sandra.

"Without Sly, you'll have to do his parts of the reconnaissance." She told her. "Go take a look around and see what you can find."

Sandra got a mischievous smile on her face as she nodded, then snatched up an earpiece and dove out the window. Carmelita watched her go, surprised to see her do a 180 emotional turn. Something was bothering that girl, and Carmelita would find out what.

"Did you really have to give her Sly's spare binoc-u-cam?" Bentley asked.

Carmelita turned to the turtle, who was currently typing away at his laptop.

"She'll need a way to take the pictures you need." Carmelita explained. "Besides. I thought you were over your mistrust for her considering how eager you were to come to Egypt."

Bentley looked up from his typing and adjusted his glasses.

"She did provide us with a solid lead, I’ll give her that.” He corrected, “But I've got this feeling that there's something up with 'Sandra'. For all I know, she's some sort of undercover cop or one of Sly's future enemies."

Murray, who had been finishing bringing in the last of Bentley's equipment, set his load down and faced his friend.

"If you think that, then why let her bring us to Egypt?" Murray asked.

"Because, even if I don't trust her, I can't let the slight chance that Sly really is here get passed up." Bentley explained. "If she really is Sly's descendant, and Sly really is here, then I'd be a fool not to take the chance. But that doesn't mean I buy her story yet."

"She had your Thievius Raccoonus." Carmelita countered. "She read from Sly's entries, and there was no mistaking who wrote it."

"Take it from the turtle who helped Sly recover that book page by page from the Fiendish Five, it can be stolen." Bentley countered right back. "It's gonna take more than a cane and a book to prove to me that Sandra Cooper is truly a Cooper."

Carmelita sighed in frustration. They weren't gonna get anywhere if some form of trust wasn't established between Bentley and Sandra. Both of them were key parts of the operation, and they both needed to be able to count on each other.

"Look Bentley," Carmelita tried, “there has to be some way to prove that she’s a Cooper. If the cane and book aren’t enough for you, then what about physical abilities? From what I’ve learned from chasing Sly, only a true Cooper can pull off half the stunts he does."

Bentley looked up from his computer again at the idea.

"Good idea Carmelita." He said as he grabbed his earpiece. "No wonder you were made Inspector in record time.”

Carmelita smiled at the compliment, then sat down at the table to begin cleaning her shock pistol.

…

Sandra ran along the rough rooftops of the Egyptian city, enjoying the feel of the air rushing past her as she leapt from one building to the other.

"It feels like forever since I've done this." She mused aloud.

Her earpiece broke into static for a second before Bentley's voice came on over it.

"Sandra." He called. "Do you read me?"

Sandra perched on the roof she was on and put two fingers to her ear.

"Loud and clear, Bentley." She replied. "Got anything for me?"

"Yeah." He replied, his voice a bit hard. "I'll just be honest. I don't trust you, but if this plan's going to work, I gotta know you can do what needs to be done."

"I see." Sandra said with a nod. "You need proof I'm a Cooper."

"That's right. Now, Carmelita's told me you have the Thievius Raccoonus."

"Right here in my satchel. I never leave anywhere without it. A moving target is harder to hit."

"Well then, if you really have it, then you've read it, and can perform some of the Cooper family techniques perfected over the millennium."

Sandra looked around and smiled.

"Yes. I. Can."

"Then prove it. I'll name a skill, and you perform it. I'll be able to watch you through the video feature of the binoc-u-cam."

Sandra gripped the binoc-u-cam and gave a grin.

"Alright Bentley. Shoot."

"Rioichi Cooper's Ninja Spire Jump."

Sandra quickly pinpointed a row of clothesline poles erected across an unused alley. Flexing her fingers around her staff, Sandra went running and jumped into the air, landing with precision balance on the first pole. With a cartwheel kick through the air, she landed on the next, then the next, and so on until she made it all the way across the alleyway.

"Well?" she asked. "How'd I do?"

"Not bad." He allowed. "But that was just one move. Let's see how you handle 'Tennessee Kid' Cooper's rail walk and rail slide."

Sandra snorted.

"I can do those two in my sleep."

The buildings were using smoothed palm tree trunks for support beams, and in some cases, said beams stretched between two different buildings. Many were level, but others were set at just the right angle for a rail slide. Sandra spotted one of those two building beams not far off and ran for it. Leaping onto the beam, she rail walked across it to the next building, which had a nice, steep trunk to slide down. Without further ado, Sandra jumped onto the beam and slid down it towards the next building, flipping in the air and landing triumphantly.

"The flip was unnecessary." Bentley remarked over the earpiece.

"Adding my own little flare." Sandra replied, twirling her cane. "Anything else?"

"Well, I do have one more for you, and you're gonna need it if you want to get the surveillance photos we need."

"And that would be?"

"Sir Galleth Cooper's Wall Hook Maneuver." Bentley replied. "Show me that your cane isn't just a prop, and then maybe I'll start believing you're a Cooper."

Sandra spotted a tall structure, probably some sort of watch tower, off in the distance. Perfect for the Wall Hook maneuver.

"Alright Bentley, you're on."

She ran for the building and was happy to note several latches, probably for torches, embedded across different spots on the tower. Jumping up, Sandra hooked onto the first latch with her cane and launched herself up to the next latch. After about five more jumps, Sandra made it to the top of the tower.

"Did I pass?" she asked.

"Alright, I'll concede." He sighed. "You're a Cooper. Only a Cooper could have done everything you just did and still talk like they were just taking a walk."

Sandra gave a dramatic bow.

"Happy to impress."

As she bowed, something caught her eye. Right in the center of the city was the Royal Palace, shimmering in the sunlight in all of its pomp and grandeur. However, there was a figure jumping out of one of the windows, sliding down one of the large columns. Curiosity got the better of Sandra and she brought the binoc-u-cam up to her eyes.

"Bentley." She said as she perched on the edge of the tower. "You getting this?"

The corner of the binoc-u-cam turned to static before revealing Bentley's face. Sandra alternated between zooming in on the palace and looking at the mini screen.

"You see something?" the turtle questioned.

"Someone's running from the palace, guards hot on their tail. I'm trying to get a bead on them as we-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the figure from before suddenly appeared near the bottom of the pillar from seemingly out of nowhere. The figure was a raccoon dressed in an Egyptian wrap, some simple golden armlets, anklets and collar, as well as an Egyptian headdress with the Cooper family crest as the decoration. In their hands were twin scythes shaped exactly like the Cooper Family cane.

"That was the Shadow Power technique." Bentley whispered.

"Developed by Slytunkhamen I." Sandra muttered. "That's him. That's my Egyptian ancestor."

Slytunkhamen peered out from behind the column, searching for any sign on the guards. He looked worried, almost terrified as he made his way across the palace grounds to escape the guards. Unfortunately, this very large, very intimidating dog intercepted Slytunkhamen.

"Uh-oh." Sandra gulped.

"Sandra, don't do anything rash." Bentley insisted.

Sandra zoomed in as Slytunkhamen attempted to fight off the big dog. The dog only seemed to laugh before snatching the Cooper Canes out of his hand.

"He's in trouble!"

Sandra went to jump off the tower, but Bentley quickly shouted for her to stop.

"No, Sandra!" he practically cried. "You can't!"

Sandra stopped short, watching the big dog take down Slytunkhamen with the help of several other dog guards.

"He's getting pummeled out there!" she screamed. "I've got to help him! He's our only lead to Sly!"

"I know that!" Bentley replied. "But if you go down there, all that will happen is that you will be pummeled as well."

"But-"

"No buts!" Bentley insisted. "Look, if you want me to trust you, do what I'm telling you to do and stay where you are! We can save him after we get more information."

Sandra watched helplessly as Slytunkhamen, now unconscious and held between two of the dog guards, was dragged into the palace. It was hard, extremely hard, to let them walk off, but Sandra did, turning away and slamming her cane down on the roof.

"DAMNIT!" she shrieked. "I hate this! I hate being so USELESS!"

Bentley had seen Sly act like this once, when Le Paradox had snatched Carmelita during their Saudi Arabia trip, albeit, not to the extreme that Sandra was showing. It only went to prove that Sandra really was Sly's descendant. Remembering how he had to talk Sly down from his anger, Bentley did his best to do the same for Sandra.

"You're not useless." He tried to tell her. "Without Sly, you're the thief of the team. You're our stealth expert, our master of disguise… You're our Cooper."

"You don't GET IT Benjy!" she yelled, angry tears in her eyes.

"Ummm…. Who's Benjy?"

Sandra realized what she had said and her breath hitched. Wiping her eyes, she stood up, grabbing her cane as she did.

"That's not important." She replied, doing her best to sound tough. "Like you said, we need more info, and the longer I stand here acting like a complete child, the longer Slytunkhamen is locked up and Sly is missing. So, what do you need?"

Like with Carmelita, Sandra's emotional 180 threw Bentley for a loop, one he quickly recovered from.

"Right.” He let out, clearing this throat. “Umm… You should probably start with the main gates of the palace. See what kind of security we're dealing with, then make your way around the perimeter."

Sandra picked up the binoc-u-cam once more, focusing in on the main gate. There were several guards not only patrolling around the wall perimeter, but at least four guards by the entrance alone. Sandra had to give a whistle.

"How are we gonna get in there?" she questioned aloud. "That wall's too high to climb, and nothing is close enough for me to use as a jumping point."

Sandra used her cane to rope slide down towards the shorter buildings until she reached the edge of the city where the Nile River was. The wall stretched right up to the edge of the water and even deep enough into the Nile that you'd need a boat to get past the wall.

"The Nile access is out too." Sandra added, focusing the binoc-u-cam on the part of the Nile enclosed by the palace to make the palace’s private bathing area. "I unfortunately inherited Sly's inability to swim."

"We'll have to find a way either over or under that wall somehow." Bentley remarked.

Sandra blinked, then looked down at her cane. She slapped herself on the forehead.

"Idiot." She chastised herself. "I forgot my special skill. I have a way over that wall."

Bentley raised an eyebrow, but decided to give Sandra the benefit of the doubt. She'd proven she's a Cooper, so if she said she had a way over that wall, then she had a way over that wall.

"If you say so." He said. "Now… see if you can find that big guard. If my guess is correct, he's probably the Captain of the Royal Guard."

Sandra found a different watch tower and scaled it quickly, perching on the roof and grabbing the binoc-u-cam once more. Focusing her search, Sandra began scanning the grounds, hoping to catch a glimpse of the big guy. Eventually, she managed to locate him in one of the large balcony windows.

"There he is." She said with a smile.

She zoomed in as best she could and was surprised to see him talking to someone. The figure was a hawk owl dressed in what looked like the attire of the Royal Advisor. The figure lacked a shirt, proving they were male. His coppery feathers and golden eyes seemed to send a chill down Sandra's spine. Her smile dropped and she became visibly shaken.

"No… No, that's not possible." She stuttered.

The silhouette was too familiar, too obvious, too imposing not to be recognized.

"Clockwerk…" Bentley whispered.

"This must be before he started turning himself into the robot you guys destroyed." Sandra whispered. "He looks…. Normal."

"If he's here, then chances are good he's the reason Slytunkhamen is imprisoned." Bentley surmised.

"You've got to be right…" Sandra replied. "My question is how he managed to become Royal Advisor."

"No idea." Bentley answered. "But I think you need to get back to the hideout for now. If Clockwerk is here, things just got much more complicated."

…

Back at the hideout, Bentley went over the footage from Sandra's binoc-u-cam, analyzing it on his computer. While he did that, Sandra paced around the hideout with a nervous energy.

"Slytunkhamen's been arrested….” She murmured, “Sly's still missing… Clockwerk's here… and time is running out…."

Murray watched her pace as he munched away at a sandwich, his eyes following her every move. Carmelita also watched, trying to figure out how to calm the raccoon down. Sly never got so emotional, and even when situations took a turn for the worst, he usually was able to keep a level head. It was obvious that this was one trait Sandra didn't inherit.

"Sandra…" Carmelita called to her. "Calm down."

"I'm trying….” She informed the fox. “Believe me, I'm trying…"

"You want a sandwich?" Murray asked, holding out a PB and J sandwich.

Sandra went to refuse, but then shrugged and sat down, eating the sandwich. Carmelita sat down next to her, eyeing the raccoon curiously.

"You alright?" she asked.

"As alright as anyone can be in this situation." She replied after swallowing a bite of sandwich. "Why?"

Carmelita wanted to ask her about the photo, and why she seemed to be avoiding talking about her gang. She wanted to ask why she was alternating between soul crushing sadness and that usual Cooper enthusiasm, but right now, with everything at stake, it didn't seem right.

"Alright." Bentley called out. "I think I've got a plan that just might work."

Sandra immediately tossed her sandwich to the side, which Murray quickly caught and ate, and went to the table, followed closely behind by Carmelita and Murray. Pulling out his holographic screen, Bentley brought up Sandra's surveillance photos, and his yellow hologram pen.

"Okay, so we're all aware of what's at stake.” The turtle began, “Slytunkhamen is somewhere in the palace dungeons, and we need to bust him out. Carmelita, you're gonna have to give those guards something to look at."

"Bentley, if this is another belly-dancing plan-" Carmelita threatened.

"It's not, I promise." Bentley assured her. "You just need to distract the guards long enough for Sandra to get over the wall. Make sure they're not looking at her."

"And how long will I have to keep their attention?" Carmelita continued.

Everyone looked at Sandra, who closed her eyes and seemed to be doing some quick calculations in her head. She gave a nod then opened her eyes.

"Three minutes, tops." She answered. "By then I'll be over the wall and in the palace."

"That fast?" Murray asked.

"Trust me, I can do it." Sandra replied.

Bentley gave a shrug, then went back to his presentation.

"Okay then.” He continued, turning back to Carmelita. “Once Sandra's inside, you'll need to get away from the palace and help Murray find a boat."

"Boat?" Murray asked.

"Our best escape route is by the Nile entrance.” Bentley clarified, “We don't know what kind of shape Slytunkhamen will be in, or if Sandra will be seen. Our best bet to making sure everyone escapes in one piece is if we have a boat."

"Alright." Carmelita nodded. "Sounds doable."

"Now Sandra, you'll need to find the Captain of the Royal Guard.” Bentley went on, “He'll most likely have the keys to the dungeon, and you'll need those to get to Slytunkhamen. Pickpocket them, then find the dungeon, but whatever you do, do NOT let Clockwerk see you."

"No argument there." Sandra replied.

"Alright." Bentley declared, shutting down his set-up. "Let's do this."

…

The sun was setting as the Cooper gang got into positions to begin their plan. Bentley stayed behind in the hideout, acting as the eyes and ears of the group, while Sandra hid in an alleyway across from the palace wall.

"I'm in position." She whispered through her earpiece. "Ready when you are Carmelita."

Near the front gate, Carmelita was dressed in an Egyptian robe with a wig covering her hair. Her expression was anything but happy.

"I'm going to get you for this, Bentley." She hissed.

"Hey, at least you're not belly-dancing." Bentley replied.

"I'd almost prefer that over this." Carmelita groaned. "I'm a police officer, not some damsel in distress."

A remark about the number of times Sly has saved her was on the tip of Sandra's tongue, but she wisely kept it to herself.

"Look Carmelita, we need to draw their attention, and nothing draws more eyes than a woman crying." Bentley explained. "So just think about something sad and start crying."

"I don't cry, Bentley." She replied curtly.

"Carmelita, you're going to hate me for this." Sandra suddenly piped up.

"Why am I-?" Carmelita began.

That's when Sandra slipped behind Carmelita and whispered something in her ear. Carmelita gasped as tears came to her eyes.

"Damn you, Ring-tail." The fox cursed.

Sandra got back into position as Carmelita started her trek towards the main gate.

"Umm…. Sandra?" Murray asked over the com. "What did you tell her?"

"Something only a woman would understand." Sandra replied.

Whatever Sandra had said did the trick and a now sobbing Carmelita was quickly drawing the attention of the guards. With their gaze elsewhere, Sandra adjusted her grip on her cane and smiled.

"Prepare to be amazed." The red raccoon whispered to no one in particular.

With that, she took off running towards the wall. As she got close, she jumped into the air and planted the butt end of her staff into the dirt and pressed a button hidden into the staff part of the cane. The cane suddenly extended with a barely audible hiss and Sandra was sent flying into the sky. She cleared the wall as her cane retracted to its original size, then landed triumphantly on the other side of the wall.

"Another ten point landing." She declared, coming out of her crouch with a grin.

The line was completely dead as everyone had been completely caught off guard by Sandra's maneuver. The first one to recover was Bentley, who immediately began sputtering in amazement.

"What was that?!"

Sandra slipped behind the large pillars to the entryway of the palace before answering.

"I call it the Piston Pole Vault." Sandra replied.

"That was amazing!" Murray practically cheered. "How did you pull off that jump?"

She looked down at her cane, revealing a small red circle hidden in the metal under her thumb.

"My cane has an extension feature installed and I can double my cane in length in the blink of an eye." She explained. "To do stuff like that, I just jump and press the circle button."

Carmelita finished off her little distraction and the guards returned to their posts. She promptly ditched the wig and began changing back into her regular clothes.

"Enough with the chit chat." She called over the com. "We've got a job to do."

"Right!" Murray called. "I'm ready to go boat hunting when you are!"

Carmelita checked her shock pistol, then went to meet up with Murray to find a boat.

…

Sandra made her way deeper and deeper into the palace, marveling at the sheer size of the place. She could get lost in the cavernous building if she wanted to. However, she needed to find the Captain of the Royal Guard, and where the door to the prison was.

As she turned a corner in her grid search for one of her targets, she found herself about ten feet away from none other than Clockwerk and the Captain of the Royal guard, who appeared to be in the middle of a conversation. She immediately darted back around the corner, gripping her cane tightly and gulping in fear.

"Too close…" she whispered.

Peeking around the corner, Sandra listened in on the conversation.

"Has he said anything yet?" Clockwerk asked.

"No sir." The Captain replied. "He keeps protesting his innocence and insisting he knows nothing."

"Bah." Clockwerk scoffed. "He is guilty, we just need to get him to crack. Just make sure that your men keep an eye on the dungeon, just in case he's got something planned."

"Of course, sir." The Captain saluted. "He will tell us where he is holding Princess Nefetari, one way of another."

Alarm bells started ringing in Sandra's head. Who was Princess Nefetari, and what did Slytunkhamen have to do with her?

The Captain's footsteps approached her hiding spot and Sandra acted on instinct. She planted her staff and hit the circle button, shooting up into the air and hooking onto a hanging chandelier (which was basically just a golden circle with places to hold candles) mere seconds before the Captain rounded the corner. Hanging with one hand, Sandra pulled out her binoc-u-cam with the other.

"Bentley, did you hear that?" she asked.

"Yeah.” Bentley replied, the sound of keystrokes filling the speaker. “I'm doing some research on this 'Princess Nefetari' as we speak."

"Good.” Sandra remarked with a small nod. “Clockwerk’s making it sound like Slytunkhamen did something to her, so the more we know, the better."

She focused the binoc-u-cam on the Captain, spotting the ring of keys on his hip.

"Target acquired." She whispered. "Slytunkhamen will be free soon."

She went to unhook herself from the chandelier, but Clockwerk's voice directly beneath her froze her in her tracks.

"The fool…" the hawk owl chuckled, "If only he knew…"

Looking down, Sandra could see the deadly bird in all of his flesh and feather glory standing beneath her. She was literally a few feet away from the creature that would haunt the Cooper family for generations. She found herself holding her breath, praying Clockwerk wouldn't look up.

"How fortunate for me that Slytunkhamen came to investigate the Princess' disappearance." He mused, looking out the window. "It made framing the raccoon all the much easier."

So Clockwerk WAS responsible for Slytunkhamen's imprisonment. Not that there was ever any doubt.

"Now, all I have to do is execute that meddlesome raccoon and move on to phase two of my plan."

At the word execute, Sandra nearly lost her grip on her cane. If that was Clockwerk's plan, then rescuing Slytunkhamen just became even more important. Clockwerk walked away after that, allowing for Sandra to drop back onto the ground.

"This isn't good." She whispered.

"No, it's not." Bentley agreed. "Find the Captain again and get those keys quick."

Sandra sprinted down the hallway, quickly catching up to the Captain. He had his back to her and was watching out the main window. Using her cane, Sandra slowly hooked onto the keys and very slowly lifted them from the guard's pocket. Once she had them in her hand, she darted back down the hallway, disappearing before he could notice.

"Alright, the keys are mine." She whispered. "But they're useless if I don't know where the door is."

"Well then, it's a good thing the Palace was excavated by archaeologists back in 2004." Bentley replied. "Just give me a minute."

Sandra could hear a frantic typing as Bentley hunted down the schematics for the palace. Once that was done, he triangulated Sandra's location of the tracking device in the binoc-u-cam (he had already tried to find Sly this way, but the battery was most likely dead, making his efforts futile). Soon, he had what he needed.

"Now if my calculations are correct, and they usually are, to get to the dungeons, head to the right, walk down until you reached the third corridor, then turn left.” Bentley instructed. “The door shouldn't be hard to miss."

Sandra walked down the right corridor, following Bentley's instructions to the letter. Sure enough, she soon spotted a single guard guarding a large wooden door with metal bars over the small window.

"I see it, but there's a guard." She informed him.

"You're gonna have to get rid of them, just make sure that they don't get the chance of raise an alarm." Bentley replied.

The guard was facing towards the hallway Sandra was attempting to come down, so she planted her cane and launched herself into the air again. She hooked onto one of the three chandeliers leading up to the dungeon door, then swung herself towards the other two. After a second, she was literally hanging right above the guard.

Sandra positioned herself right above the guard and unhooked her cane. As she fell, she positioned her cane so that it came down hook side right onto the guard's head. He was unconscious before the two hit the floor. Sandra rolled away from the guard and straightened herself, keeping an ear out for anyone coming. Luckily, it didn't seem like anyone was around.

"Guard's down, and the door is mine." Sandra whispered.

"Great!" Bentley cheered. "Slytunkhamen is inches away from freedom!"

Sandra propped the guard up against the wall, then slipped the key into the lock and ducked into the dungeon.

…

Across the city, Carmelita and Murray had managed to locate the docks. Now, they just needed to find a small boat, but all they could find were large galleons or huge fishing ships.

"I think there was a flaw in your plan, Bentley." Carmelita commented. "These boats are too big."

"There's got to be some small boats around their somewhere." Bentley insisted. "Just keep looking. Sandra's already in the dungeon."

Carmelita growled, then turned to Murray.

"We're running out of time big guy." She told him. "Tell me you've found some-"

He was gone. Where the large hippo had been not two seconds ago was now empty.

"Murray?” Carmelita called out. “Where did you-?"

_SPLASH!_

A small boat was suddenly thrown off of one of the larger galleons, touching down right next to the fox. Shaking off the sudden deluge of water, Carmelita looked at the small boat, then at Murray. The hippo looked down at his handiwork proudly before jumping down onto the dock next to her, the oars in his hands.

"The Murray has found us the necessary boat!" he declared loudly.

Carmelita couldn't help but smirk.

"Good job, big guy." She told him. "Now we need to get moving."

Murray gave a salute and climbed into the boat, Carmelita right behind him, and began rowing towards the palace.

…

The first thing Sandra saw when she entered the dungeon was Slytunkhamen's scythes in a large crate full of other weapons, most likely taken from previous prisoners. She snatched them up without hesitation, sticking them into her satchel as she slipped deeper and deeper into the dungeon.

Many of the cells were occupied by very haggard Egyptians, different dogs and cats or different shapes, sizes, and ages. Most were asleep, but a few were still awake, though they didn't seem to notice the red raccoon slipping through the rows of cells. Near the end of the cell-block, Sandra finally found who she was looking for.

"Slytunkhamen?" she asked.

The raccoon sitting in the final cell looked up curiously, his movements echoed by the sound of rattling chains. Both his wrists and both his ankles had thick cuffs locked on them, keeping him anchored to the floor. He looked up at Sandra and his eyes widened.

"Nefetari?" he asked, "Is that you? What are you doing here?"

Sandra approached the cell door and began unlocking it.

"My name's Sandra." She told him. "I'm here to rescue you."

Slytunkhamen squinted, then sighed sadly.

"I see the difference now." He whispered. "Though the likeness is amazing."

Sandra got the door open and got to work on Slytunkhamen's chains.

"I'll take that as a compliment." She replied, sticking her tongue out of the corner of her mouth. "You okay to walk?"

"I shall have to be." He answered. "My beloved Nefetari needs my help, and I cannot save her from inside this prison cell."

Sandra managed to undo the last of Slytunkhamen's chains, then helped him to his feet. She handed him his scythes, a gesture he seemed quite pleased about, then picked up her cane. He noticed the cane and his eyebrow raised.

"You are a traveler from afar." It wasn't a question. "Like the one who calls himself Sly. He too carries a Shepard's crook like yours."

Sandra gave a nod, happily noting Slytunkhamen's use of the present tense when he described Sly.

"My last name is Cooper, like you." She told him. "But that's not important at the moment."

"You are right." Slytunkhamen replied. "Escape should be our focus for the moment, Sand of Ra."

Sandra blinked in confusion at the end part of that sentence, then realized what he had said.

"Umm…. It's Sandra." She clarified.

"Is that not what I said?" Slytunkhamen questioned.

“No you said-” Sandra began before remembering their situation. “Never mind."

With that, the two Coopers slipped through the dungeons and out the door.

…

Murray rowed with all his might, weaving through thick groves of papyrus reeds in his attempt to make it to the private part of the river.

"We're almost there, Murray." Carmelita called. "I can see the entrance."

Murray didn't give a reply, simply redoubling his efforts to row. He approached the edge of the wall and passed through the gossamer curtain cutting off the river from the palace bathing area. Considering the lateness of the hour, it was no surprise that it was empty, save for two figures darting through the darkness.

"Cooper?" Carmelita hissed.

"Yes?" two different voices hissed back.

"Good, you got him." She said with a sigh of relief. "Hurry up, before someone notices we're here."

Unfortunately, that's when an unholy screech echoed through the palace. It cut through the quiet and tranquility of the night like a hot knife through butter. Carmelita and Murray both recognized the sound.

"Uh-oh…" Murray stammered.

"Sandra. Slytunkhamen." Carmelita whispered, cocking her gun. "Get in the boat."

The two Coopers immediately jumped into the boat and Murray began rowing once more. Just as they rounded the corner, Sandra caught sight of Clockwerk's silhouette running into the bathing area. They disappeared before he spotted them, but the angry screech grated at all four of their ears as the hawk owl howled in anger.

"YOU WON'T ESCAPE ME FOR LONG, SLYTUNKHAMEN!" Clockwerk cried. "DO YOU HEAR ME?! YOU WON'T ESCAPE!"

Clockwerk's angry jeers followed them as the Cooper gang successfully escaped into the night.


	3. Operation: Owl Bait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slytunkhamen has been successfully rescued, but the job is far from over. Now on top of saving Sly and bringing him home, the Cooper Gang must stop Clockwerk's sinister plan before he takes over all of Egypt

When the gang made it back to the hideout, Clockwerk’s furious cries still had their ears ringing. Even Bentley, who hadn’t even left the hideout this go around, found himself shaking in his wheelchair. Once everyone was inside, Murray leaned against the door while both Carmelita and Sandra pulled the rough curtains down over the windows.

“Okay….” Sandra sighed as she sagged beneath her window. “Let’s not do that again.”

“Agreed.” Carmelita said as she checked to see that her shock pistol had a round in the chamber.

“No argument there.” Murray nodded.

For a good 5 minutes, the gang just sat there, reveling in their success, especially Slytunkhamen, who had been worried that he would not have escaped the prison. Once the realization of his rescue sank in, he stood, facing the group. He gave a deep bow, much to everyone’s surprise.

“I thank you for freeing me from my imprisonment.” He said as he slowly rose again. “I am in your debt.”

“It’s no big deal.” Sandra replied.

“In all honesty, we saved you for a rather selfish reason.” Bentley added.

“Your reason for freeing me does not change the outcome.” Slytunkhamen replied. “Whatever it is you want of me, you will have it.”

Carmelita stood up, walking over to the van and grabbing the cryptile from the time machine. She placed it on the table in front of Slytunkhamen, who stared at it in fascination.

“How did you get ahold of this?” he asked.

“That’s unimportant.” Sandra replied. “What is important is the character this stone depicts.”

“He’s our friend, Sly.” Murray added. “We came to take him home.”

Slytunkhamen gave a nod of understanding.

“I suspected as much when I saw Sand of Ra’s Shepard’s crook.” He noted. “The similarities were astounding.”

Sandra crossed her arms at Skytunkhamen’s mispronunciation of her name.

“My name’s Sandra.” She muttered.

“Have you seen him recently?” Carmelita asked, completely ignoring Sandra.

Slytunkhamen shook his head.

“Recent events have made meeting up with Sly quite difficult.” He explained “With the rise of the new Royal advisor and the disappearance of Princess Nefetari, Egypt has become quite a hostile place.”

“We noticed.” Bentley noted. “Though I have to admit, seeing Clockwerk as the Royal Advisor was a big shock.”

Slytunkhamen turned on Bentley, raising a suspicious eyebrow.

“You know of the Royal Advisor?” he asked.

Bentley rubbed his legs absentmindedly.

“Know of him?” He replied. “It’s because of him I’m in this wheelchair.”

Slytunkhamen’s eyes narrowed and his face became grim.

“Does that bird’s evil know no bounds?”

Everyone exchanged knowing glances before Sandra stepped forward.

“Maybe you should start from the beginning.” She suggested. “Tell us how all this started.”

Slytunkhamen nodded, then began his tale.

…..

“The one you call Clockwerk came to Egypt from parts unknown a long time ago. He made a name for himself as a wise-man and was soon invited to the Palace. Within weeks of his arrival, he was announced to be the new Royal Advisor.”

“No doubt he manipulated the Pharaoh to get the position.” Carmelita snarled.

“Yes, but his crimes do not stop there.” Slytunkhamen replied. “He began using his power to influence the Pharaoh’s decisions. He increased taxes on the common people, had innocent people thrown in prison for even slight offenses, and many other horrible things. But, he will not stop there…”

“He wants to be Pharaoh.” Bentley realized. “Not just a puppeteer.”

“Correct.” Slytunkhamen agreed. “The only way he will become Pharaoh is through marriage to the current Pharaoh’s eldest daughter.”

“Princess Nefetari…” Sandra muttered.

“But the princess would never agree to marry him.” Slytunkhamen stated with an air of confidence.

“Let me guess…” Carmelita responded. “She’s in love with someone else.”

Slytunkhamen gave a nod, and now his earlier commented about his beloved Nefetari made sense to Sandra.

“You two are lovers aren’t you?” Sandra asked.

Slytunkhamen nodded, a wistful expression on his face that the reminded Bentley and Murray of the times Sly would think about Carmelita.

“She is the most precious treasure I could ever have, and I never had to steal her. If anything, she stole me. We even spoke of eloping to Constantinople.” His face fell as he spoke again. “But on the night we were to run away together, she was kidnapped. Sly believed the one you call Clockwerk is behind it and went to investigate. I have not heard from him since. I was going in search of him when I was captured.”

“When I was sneaking through the palace, I heard Clockwerk talk about his plan to frame you for the Princess’ kidnapping.” Sandra added. “Odds are, Clockwerk hired someone to kidnap her, then set you up to take the fall. He goes and saves her, reveals you as the kidnapper, and she hates you and loves him.”

“Ingenious….” Bentley mused. “Completely twisted and cruel… but ingenious.”

“But now that I have escaped, his plan is in shambles.” Slytunkhamen noted.

“Meaning he’ll be scrambling to recapture you.” Carmelita added. “And us as well.”

That’s when Bentley got an idea.

“More than that, he’ll probably meet up with whomever is guarding the princess.” He said. “He’ll find them, make sure they still have her, and if he does that-”

“Then we can put a tracker on the kidnappers to lead us back to wherever their hideout is and BAM!” Murray interrupted.

“Exactly!” Bentley concluded.

That’s when Carmelita spoke up again.

“Just one problem, Bentley.” She said. “Clockwerk knows Slytunkhamen’s face, odds are he’s seen mine, Sandra’s and Murray’s.”

“And with the apparent likeness I share to the Princess according to Slytunkhamen, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea for me to go out anyhow.” Sandra added.

“He hasn’t seen me though.” Bentley replied. “I’ll be just another face in a crowd.”

Slytunkhamen looked skeptical.

“Are you sure that is a wise move, Bentley?” he asked. “If you are spotted, it is unlikely you will be able to get away fast enough.”

Bentley smirked as he wheeled over towards the door.

“Trust me.” He said. “I got this.”

As Bentley left the hideout, Slytunkhamen went to follow him, but the other three stopped him.

“Don’t worry about Bentley.” Carmelita insisted. “He’s the brains of the Cooper gang for a reason.”

“But, without the use of his legs-”

“He built that wheelchair with more gadgets and gizmos then my van.” Murray interrupted. “If he says he can do it, he can do it.”

“Trust in Bentley, okay?” Sandra asked.

Slytunkhamen was still reluctant, but sighed and settled into a chair.

“As you wish, Sand of Ra.”

“It’s-…. Oh just forget it….”

…..

Bentley rolled through the streets of the city, avoiding the guardsmen out patrolling the area. He wasn’t sure how long he would have to be out here searching for Clockwerk, but luckily he didn’t have long to wait. Just as he turned a corner, he spotted a cloaked figure stalking through the streets. Though they had their face covered, the coppery brown feathers were a dead giveaway.

“Bingo.”

Bentley watched Clockwerk go over to what looked like a fruit vendor’s stand as if waiting for someone. Seeing an opportunity, Bentley rolled over towards the stand, his mechanical arms grabbing a robe and a turban as a disguise. With a little effort, he slipped into the disguise and rolled over to the stand.

“Can I help you today sir?” Bentley asked, doing his best to sound like an Egyptian (luckily he was better at accents than Sly).

Clockwerk looked at Bentley and then to the side, as if to make sure nobody was following him. Bentley had to keep himself from smiling. If only he knew.

“I have some associates of mine coming by. When you see them, make sure they get this.”

He handed Bentley a scroll tied off with a red ribbon. The turtle took it with a nod, but Clockwerk kept a grip on it.

“Make sure they get it, and nobody else.” He snarled. “Understood?”

“Understood, sir.” Bentley replied as Clockwerk released the scroll. “I will make sure they get it.”

With that, Clockwerk disappeared into the crowd as Bentley waited. Once more, he didn’t have long to wait before a pair of dogs appeared at his stand. From their gruff manner and rough appearance, it was obvious these two were the associates Clockwerk had meant. One of them looked over at Bentley and snarled.

“You got something for us?” he demanded.

Bentley handed over the scroll, which the dog quickly snatched. As the two opened the scroll to read its contents, Bentley’s mechanical arm slipped a tracking device into both of their belts. For good measure, he also slipped a bug onto their belts as well, meaning he’d be able to hear everything they say.

With their scroll in hand, the two dogs flipped some coins towards Bentley and walked off. The turtle collected the coins and smiled.

“The bugs are placed.” He smirked. “Now we’ll know exactly where they are and what their plan is.”

“Great job Bentley.” Sandra told him. “Head on back here and we’ll see what we find.”

…..

Sandra switched off her comm after delivering that final message, turning her attention to Bentley’s display. Carmelita hunched over her shoulder, watching the red raccoon type away.

“You’re pretty good at that.” Carmelita commented as Sandra brought up the tracking screen and the bug’s recording system. “I can barely make heads or tails of this set-up.”

“Benjy showed me the ropes.” Sandra explained. “I’m no hacker, but I know my way around a computer terminal.”

Carmelita remembered Sandra using the name Benjy once before, when she had gotten upset about Slytunkhamen’s capture and had broken down into an emotional rage.

_You don’t GET it Benjy!!_

“Is Benjy the brains of your operation?” she asked.

Sandra hesitated for a minute, her face falling visibly before she answered.

“Yeah….” She finally replied. “I probably would have been locked up long ago without him.”

“If that’s true, then why didn’t you bring him along with you when you came to my office?”

Sandra turned away from Carmelita, focusing on the screen before her. Carmelita sighed. She wasn’t going to get any more information out of her. She stood up and walked towards the van, sitting down inside as Bentley came rolling in.

“Your bugs are working perfectly.” Sandra called. “Got their positions on screen and the listening device on standby.”

“Excellent.” Bentley replied, shrugging out of his disguise. “Glad that worked because I do NOT want to go back out in this thing.”

“Well, you’re not supposed to have a bulletproof vest and a polo shirt underneath the tunic.” Sandra joked.

Bentley tossed his turban playfully at Sandra, eliciting snort of laughter from the raccoon. Carmelita watched the exchange, shaking her head in confusion. The more she watched Sandra, the more confused she became. Like Sly, she was hard to read.

“They’ve stopped moving!” Sandra exclaimed.

The gang immediately gathered around the display as Bentley took control. He zoomed in on two blinking dots on the map Bentley had made of the city, and everyone was surprised by the results.

“The Sphinx…” Murray said slowly.

“They’re in the Sphinx…” Carmelita added.

That’s when Sandra perked.

“Not in…. beneath!”

She went for her knapsack, fishing around inside of it until she pulled out a rolled up paper. She then laid it out on the table in front of everybody, revealing a map of what looked like underground catacombs.

“When my gang and I were in Egypt back in my time, we used these underground tunnels to traverse the city without alerting INTERPOL or the grave robbers.” She explained. “There are various entrances, but one of the largest areas is located here, underneath the Sphinx.”

Bentley did a quick scan and added the underground map to his set-up. Murray looked at Sandra with a confused look.

“Wait… if you’re from the future, how come you don’t have that map on some sort of futuristic computer thingy?”

Sandra chuckled, shaking her head.

“My time is only about 110 years after your time.” She said. “Technology isn’t that much more advanced. Besides, call it a Cooper thing, but I like things I can tangibly hold over technological things.”

Slytunkhamen picked up the paper map, studying it intently.

“The underground tunnels…” he hissed. “How could I have forgotten? I used those tunnels as escape routes before I developed the Shadow Power Technique.”

Carmelita patted Slytunkhamen on the shoulder.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” She told him. “Take it from people who have lost someone important to them. You tend to forget everything but them.”

Slytunkhamen gave a nod, then continued to study the map. As he did, the listening system began squawking, signaling that one of the dogs were talking.

“Look alive people.” Carmelita ordered. “Let’s see what these brainless idiots tell us.”

Bentley switched the bug on as Dog #2 began talking

**_-Buyer wants us to double security on the princess._ **

**_Are you kidding? What for?_ **

**_He suspects trouble. Says to keep a weather eye out._ **

**_Whatever, for the amount of money this guy’s paying us, I’ll have security patrols doubled._ **

Bentley was scribbling down the conversation at almost lightning speeds. Everyone else was crouched around the device, especially Slytunkhamen, who was examining it curiously.

“What an odd device.” He said in wonderment.

A female voice then crackled through the speaker, catching everyone’s attention.

**_Please…. Just let me go… I swear on Isis you’ll get any money or treasure you want… just let me go…_ **

**_Oh we’ll let you go… once your buyer comes to collect you, we’ll let you go._ **

**_No…. Please…._ **

Slytunkhamen’s eyes widened as he practically leapt onto the table.

“Nefetari…”

“The Princess.” Sandra whispered.

Bentley grabbed the paper map from Slytunkhamen, then looking at his map on the computer. He noted the location of Dog #2 and circled it with a yellow marker.

“Now we know where the princess is being held.” He said with a smile. “Perfect.”

Slytunkhamen did not share Bentley’s excitement. In fact, the raccoon seemed almost desperate for action. He went to go for the door but luckily Murray intercepted him.

“That’s not a good idea.” He said.

“The longer Nefetari is there, the greater the danger she is in, and the sooner the Royal Advisor will get his treacherous talons on her.”

Sandra came over and gently took her ancestor’s arm.

“That won’t happen.” Sandra insisted. “But if you just go barreling in there, you’ll only get yourself captured again.”

“Bentley’s gonna come up with a plan.” Murray added. “His plans always work. Trust us.”

Every fiber of Slytunkhamen’s being wanted nothing more than to go and rescue his beloved princess, but the words of Murray and Sandra rang with truth, so he allowed himself to be led back to the table. Dog #2 was done talking so Bentley switched off the bug, but then, Dog #1’s listening device began squawking.

“What else will these guys tell us?” Bentley asked as he turned on the device.

**_-Keep a close eye on this one. Boss says we may have trouble._ **

**_You mean Slytunkhamen? But I thought he was locked up._ **

**_Well, apparently he escaped with some help._ **

**_What help? We’ve got his partner right here!_ **

At the word partner, everyone got quiet.

“Partner….” Sandra whispered. “Do they mean-?”

That’s when a very familiar voice spoke up on the listening device.

**_You guys are definitely the dullest tools in the shed._ **

Bentley, Murray, and Carmelita all jolted forward in surprise.

“That’s Sly’s voice!” Murray shouted.

Bentley drew another circle on the map where the first dog was, his hand trembling as he did so. Carmelita just stared at the screen, her face a mixture of different emotions.

“Ringtail…”

**_Slytunkhamen is going to save the Princess, and he’s going to stop you._ **

**_Oh shut your mouth, Ring-tail_ **

**_There’s only one person who can call me that, and you’re most definitely not her._ **

Carmelita hit the mute button, sinking into a chair. Everyone watched her carefully, afraid she’d break down at a moment’s notice. However, she was an INTERPOL agent, and one of the best. She quickly gathered herself, wiped her eyes, and stood up.

“Our rescue mission just gained an extra participant.” She stated simply. “So, what’s the plan Bentley?”

Sandra gave a small smile.

“And people accuse me of being bipolar emotionally.”

Bentley ignored Sandra’s remark, examining the map carefully. He muttered to himself as he traced his fingers across possible paths and plans. After about three minutes, he set the map down and adjusted his glasses.

“Okay, we know where these guys are holding Princess Nefetari. We also know they’ve got Sly prisoner as well. Getting them out is our top priority. However, we also have another objective. We need to make sure that Clockwerk takes the fall for this scheme and not Slytunkhamen.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” Slytunkhamen asked.

“Simple. We get caught.”

Everyone’s eyes widened as they stared at the turtle.

“WHAT?!” they all exclaimed.

“Here me out.” Bentley insisted. “Even if we save the Princess, we won’t be able to pin this onto Clockwerk. He’s been too careful to make sure that he’s not connected.”

“And getting caught will help to prove he’s guilty?” Carmelita asked. “He’ll just spin some tale to say we kidnaped Princess Nefetari.”

“Yeah, and I doubt the words of captured criminals will be heeded.” Sandra added.

“True, Clockwerk does have the Pharaoh’s trust, but there is one he will trust more.” Bentley countered. “The Princess.”

“Still, I think it’s safe to say she’s been kept blissfully unaware of her true captor.” Sandra countered right back.

“Which is why we’re gonna show her the truth, using a little sleight of hand.”

Bentley opened a tab on his computer, bringing up a picture of Princess Nefetari. Everyone looked at it and were taken aback.

“Slytunkhamen, you weren’t exaggerating when you said I look like her.” Sandra muttered. “Put a little make-up on me and get me one of those Egyptian wigs and we could be twins.”

“A fact we’re going to exploit.” Bentley explained.

Now everyone was catching on.

“Now I get it.” Slytunkhamen commented. “Sand of Ra takes Nefetari’s place in the prison while Nefetari pretends to be Sand of Ra.”

“That way, when we get captured-” Murray began.

“-She hears the real story and can help us to expose Clockwerk.” Carmelita interrupted.

“More than that, the fact that he will be presenting a fake princess to the Pharaoh will definitely add fuel to the proverbial fire.” Sandra finished.

“Exactly.” Bentley replied with a nod. “That’s the jist of Operation: Owl Bait. Now for the gritty details.”

He grabbed the map again, pointing out two different paths he had drawn.

“Carmelita, Murray and I will take this path towards where their holding Sly. We’ll cause a fuss so great that they’ll have to send all of their men to stop us. While they’re distracted by us, Slytunkhamen and Sandra will sneak into the Princess’ holding cell. There, Sandra and Nefetari will switch places, then meet us back here with Sly. Once that’s done, we’ll need to go down.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Sandra commented. “When do we start?”

Bentley rolled up the map as Sandra took it, slipping it back into her knapsack.

“Right now!”

…..

The secret entrance into the tunnels closest to Sly’s position was conveniently located in a secluded alleyway, allowing for Carmelita, Bentley, and Murray to easily access the tunnels without alerting suspicion. After all, they needed to be caught on their terms.

The darkened tunnels were seemingly deserted, but as the group traversed the underground labyrinth, they could hear voices off in the distance.

“Double the patrols!” someone ordered. “I don’t want so much as a snake to slither through these tunnels without you knowing it.”

“Yes sir!” what sounds like a culmination of three or four different voices replied.

“That’s our que.” Bentley whispered. “You two are up.”

Carmelita cocked her weapon as Murray cracked his knuckles. They shared a nod, then rounded the corner.

“Hey boys.” Carmelita called. “Do yourselves a favor and surrender now.”

The guards all jumped in surprise at seeing Carmelita, then quickly turned to take her down. Carmelita took one out with a very loud shot from her shock pistol while Murray came charging at the other two.

“THE MURRAY WILL NOT LET YOU GET AWAY!!”

His granite hard fists connected with the guards’ faces and they fell like sacks of grain to the ground.

“OH YEAH!!!” He shouted, flexing his muscles.

“Great job big guy.” Carmelita said with a smile.

“Definitely.” Bentley agreed. “Someone definitely heard that, and reinforcements will be coming our way.”

“Let’s see if we can get them all.” Carmelita smirked, reloading her pistol.

…..

On the opposite end of the tunnels, two dogs were standing guard over the Princess’ holding cell. As they did, they heard a loud commotion coming from off down the tunnels.

“Did you hear that?” one asked.

“Yeah…” the other replied. “Sounds like a rescue attempt.”

“Should we go help?”

“No. We have our orders. We stay here.”

The commotion only got louder and the two could make out some of their own screaming in terror.

“REINFORCEMENTS!” One of the dogs in charge of the operation shouted. “ANY AVAILIABLE REINFORCEMENTS TO TUNNEL 17!”

The two guards exchanged glances.

“Should we?” the first one asked.

“She’s not going anywhere. Let’s go.”

The two guards disappeared down the tunnels, leaving the tunnels deserted. As they left, a patch of shadows shimmered, revealing Slytunkhamen, who was holding Sandra’s hand. Once they were in full view, Sandra released Slytunkhamen’s hand and shivered slightly.

“That was beyond unnatural.” She muttered.

“My apologies for making you uncomfortable, Sand of Ra.”

Inside the holding cell, Princess Nefetari heard the two Coopers talking and called out softly.

“Hello?” she called. “Is someone there?”

Slytunkhamen approached the bars of the princess’ holding cell, eliciting a gasp from the Princess.

“Slytunkhamen?” she whispered. “Are you truly here?”

Slytunkhamen reached through the bars, caressing the Princess Nefetari’s cheek.

“Yes, my beloved. I have come to free you from this wretched prison.”

The Princess seemed to relax as she was caressed by Slytunkhamen’s paw, then Sandra came out of the shadows.

“By Isis!” She exclaimed. “My Doppelganger!”

Both Sandra and Slytunkhamen shushed the princess, then kept an ear out for any approaching guards. Luckily, Bentley’s plan to draw their attention appeared to be working and nobody came running.

“My beloved, this is Sand of Ra. She is not here to harm you, but to help you.”

“It’s Sandra, not Sand of Ra…” Sandra muttered futilely.

The Princess looked at Sandra with weary confusion as the latter examined and began picking the lock. After a few minutes, there was a definite click ans Sandra smiled.

“You’re home free Princess.” She said as she slipped the lock out of place and pulled the cell door open.

Princess Nefetari exited the cell, embracing Slytunkhamen. Sandra watched them hug, a sad expression on her face. After about two or three minutes, the two released and Sandra approached the Princess.

“We’re not done just yet.” Sandra explained. “We need to catch the one responsible for your kidnapping.”

“And to do that, we will need your help, beloved.” Slytunkhamen added.

“What must I do?” the Princess asked.

Sandra then smiled.

“How do you feel about the color blue?”

…..

Wave after wave of guards were falling by the truckload, some to Murray’s fists, some to Carmelita’s shock pistol, and others to Bentley’s bombs. When not fighting off guards, the group would reference their map to make sure they were headed in the right direction.

“According to the map, Sly should be just around the corner.” Bentley remarked as he dispatched a guard with his wheelchair’s wheel attack.

“Are you sure?” Carmelita asked, letting off another shot.

“Positive.” Bentley replied.

Murray didn’t ask questions. Instead, he barreled down the tunnel, rounding the corner with fists raised. Carmelita and Bentley ran to catch up, dodging the guards that Murray punched, threw, and shoved out of his way. After a few minutes, the group could see a large group of guards standing in front of a large cell. One of them was holding a cane that all three of them recognized.

Sly’s cane.

“That’s our target, Murray!” Carmelita shouted. “Clear a path!”

The hippo gave a loud roar and ran towards the guards, who were all trembling and attempting to look brave. Murray attacked head on, swinging his fists wildly and knocking down guards left, right and center. Within about five minutes, all of the guards were down for the count, and the cell was revealed. Murray plucked the cane out of the unconscious guard’s hands with a defiant yank.

“That’s not yours.” He said.

Carmelita and Bentley joined Murray and the three approached the bars of the cell. It was incredibly dark inside and it was hard to make out anyone inside. Taking a deep breath, Murray grabbed the metal bars, pulling with all his strength until he wrenched the entire set-up free.

“Sly?” Murray called as the three cautiously entered the cell. “Sly? Are you in here?”

From the shadows, a raccoon-esque figure emerged, a shocked look on their face. Their fur was a bit wilder than they remembered, and his blue clothes were gone, replaced with an Egyptian wrap and headdress similar to Slytunkhamen’s. However, there was no denying who it was.

“SLY!!!” Murray and Bentley all exclaimed.

“Bentley?!” Sly gasped. “Murray?!”

Murray grabbed the raccoon, hugging him tightly as tears came to his eyes. He also scooped up Bentley, who hugged Sly as well, albeit, not as tightly. Sly didn’t even feel the tightness of Murray’s grip, his brain still trying to process what was going on.

“What are you doing here?!” Sly asked. “How did you find me?!”

Carmelita, who watched the exchange with mixed emotion, approached the group with her pistol still drawn.

“It’s a long story, Ring-tail.” She stated simply, keeping her voice even and emotionless.

Sly stared at Carmelita, his surprised expression becoming even more so at the sight of his favorite INTERPOL agent and former partner. Seeing Sly’s reaction to Carmelita, Murray set the raccoon down, then placed Bentley back in his wheelchair.

“Carmelita…-” Sly began.

Carmelita held up a hand, not meeting Sly’s eye. Pleasantries would have to wait. There was a job to be done.

“Not now, Cooper.” She said. “Right now, we’re in the middle of one of Bentley’s operations, so listen carefully….”

…..

Sandra adjusted the Princess’ wig over her wild hair, then smoothed out the skirt of the dress. Nefetari awkwardly tied Sandra’s boot laces, tying loose knots in the laces. With the costume change, Sandra was now ‘Nefetari’, and Nefetari was now ‘Sandra’.

“Are you sure this will work, Sand of Ra?” ‘Sandra’ asked as she straightened herself.

“Positive.” ‘Nefetari’ replied, helping ‘Sandra’ tie the mask on her face. “Just remember what you have to do.”

“Don’t say a word, don’t fight, and wait for your signal.”

‘Nefetari’ gave a nod, then pulled the hood over the ‘Sandra’s’ hair and handed her the cane. ‘Nefetari’ then walked into the cell, closing the door and slipping the lock back into place.

“Good luck, Sand of Ra.” Slytunkhamen said as he took ‘Sandra’s’ arm. “May the Gods watch over you.”

‘Princess Nefetari’ gave a nod, then watched as both Slytunkhamen and ‘Sandra’ literally disappeared into the shadows. Once their footsteps, receded, ‘Nefetari’ sat down on the ground and let out a shaky breath. She was truly alone, weaponless, and helpless.

And that terrified her.

“Get a grip Sandra.” She whispered. “Remember why you’re doing this. This is for Sly…. For Benjy….. For Marcus….”

She clenched her fists and wiped away the frightened tears threatening to spill over.

“You can do this…”

…..

Back with the rest of the Cooper Gang, Carmelita was explaining the basics of the plan as they cleared away the unconscious guards. Sly caught on pretty quickly, and gave a nod when Carmelita finished her explanation.

“Sounds like a good plan, Bentley.” Sly commented. “Wouldn’t expect anything less.”

The gang cleared the last of the guards as Slytunkhamen and ‘Sandra’ appeared from the shadows.

“It is done, Bentley.” Slytunkhamen stated simply. “And it is good to see you alive and well, Sly.”

“You too, Slytunkhamen.” Sly replied. “So what now?”

As he said this, a call came from deeper in the tunnels, and this time, it was obviously not the dogs.

“To arms men!” Clockwerk’s voice called. “The Princess is down here somewhere!”

“Now we see if you still know how to fight.” Bentley jokingly quipped. “Relaxing here in Egypt for so long, you may have lost your touch.”

Sly smirked as Murray tossed him his cane.

“I’ll make you eat those words.”

Clockwerk and the palace soldiers rounded the corner, where the Cooper gang met them head on. Clockwerk didn’t even seem phased to see them there. In fact, it was almost as if he’d anticipated their arrival.

“Well, well, well… Looks like we’ve discovered the entire nest of kidnappers who dare to kidnap Princess Nefetari! Capture them alive men! We’ll present them to the Pharaoh!”

With that, the battle raged. Carmelita pistol whipped several soldiers, not firing a shot. It wasn’t long before one of the soldiers managed to grab ahold of her arm and wrench the weapon from her grasp. It took every ounce of her strength not to break free from the brute’s grip, but somehow, she managed.

Murray ended up getting dogpiled by about a dozen soldiers before he could realistically go down, and had to fight his instinct not to send them all flying across the tunnel walls. Sly managed to go down next, having his staff caught by one of the soldiers and yanked from his grip.

“And I just got that back.” He mused.

The soldier then used the cane to whack him upside the head, knocking the raccoon to the ground seemingly unconscious. However, a wink towards the gang revealed he was only faking it. Slytunkhamen stood between the soldiers and Bentley and ‘Sandra’. His twin scimitar canes were raised in order to fight them off, but the Clockwerk stepped forward.

“Give up, Slytunkhamen.” He ordered. “You cannot protect yourself as well as your two friends. Surrender now and don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”

Feigning indecision, Slytunkhamen hesitated before sighing and dropping his scimitars. ‘Sandra’ dropped her cane as well as Bentley just sat in his chair, playing the part of helpless cripple. Clockwerk gave a sadistic smile as he nodded for a group of soldiers to take the three of them. Soon, the entire Cooper gang had their hands tied behind their backs, though Bentley’s were simply tied in front of him.

“That was perhaps your first wise decision you’ve ever made.” Clockwerk taunted.

“You will not get away with this.” Slytunkhamen threatened.

Clockwerk leaned in close and whispered into Slytunkhamen’s ear.

“My dear raccoon, I believe I already have.”

He leaned back and addressed the soldiers once more.

“Spread out and find the Princess. She must be hidden in here somewhere.”

The soldiers spread out to begin their search, leaving Clockwerk with the Cooper gang.

“And once they find her, I’ll rescue her and be welcomed into the palace as the hero of Egypt.”

“You two-timing charlatan!” Carmelita spat. “The pharaoh will never fall for this. He’ll see through your lies.”

Clockwerk chuckled before taking Carmelita’s chin in his wing.

“My naïve woman… I have the Pharaoh’s trust. He’ll believe anything I tell him. If I told him the sky was green or the Nile was purple, he would take my words for truth.”

‘Sandra’ listened to these words, an expression of shock on her face. Still she kept quiet, not wanting to draw attention to herself. Luckily, a soldier returned from patrol, a relieved expression on his face.

“We found her.” He said happily.

Clockwerk put on a relieved expression as he turned to the soldier.

“Excellent.” He said. “Escort these heinous villains to the surface while I go and free the Princess. Ensure they don’t try anything foolish like an escape attempt.”

The soldier gave a salute, then led the Cooper Gang away.

…..

‘Princess Nefetari’ looked up as Clockwerk broke the lock on the door, pulling it open.

“My darling…” Clockwerk called softly.

‘Nefetari’ let out a soft gasp as she ran to Clockwerk, embracing him in apparent relief. Clockwerk wrapped his wings around her in a gentle embrace.

“You need not be afraid.” He assured her. “Your captors have been arrested and will face true justice.”

‘Nefetari’s’ frame shook from what Clockwerk believed to be sobs. In truth, she was laughing.

“Come.” He told her. “It’s time I take you home.”


	4. The Truth Will Set You Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Operation: Owl Bait comes to a close and the Cooper Gang is reunited. However, there is still some unresolved issues that must be resolved, especially between Sly and Carmelita. More than that, Sandra's true motives for saving Sly are finally revealed.

The Pharaoh sat in his throne room, his heart heavy with sadness and anticipation. His every thought was on his daughter, and how even after a week, there was still no word on her location, no ransom demand, and no idea if she was even alive. His Royal Advisor had taken a troop of men, determined to find the Princess or die trying.

The doors to the throne room suddenly opened, causing the Pharaoh to sit up. It was one of his messengers.

“What is it?” he demanded.

“Sire, the Royal Advisor has returned.” The messenger replied with an eager expression. “And… He’s not alone.”

The Pharaoh suddenly found himself sitting on the edge of his throne.

“Bring him in.” The Pharaoh ordered. “Immediately!”

The messenger darted out of the Throne Room, disappearing for a minute. The doors were then opened wide as The Royal Advisor walked in. With him was a group of six people with their hands bound and a figure hidden underneath his wing. The Pharaoh found his heart racing as the group approached.

“Your Highness.” The Royal Advisor greeted. “It is with glad tidings that I present to you… Princess Nefetari.”

He removed his wing from around the figure, revealing his beloved daughter underneath. The Pharaoh couldn’t contain his raging emotions as tears came to his eyes.

“Nefetari…” he said, his voice choked with sobs.

His daughter looked up at him, her eyes red from crying. Unable to wait any longer, The Pharaoh rose from his throne and embraced his daughter, hugging her tightly. She returned the hug after a moment’s hesitation, and the two just stood there for a few minutes before he finally released her. The Royal Advisor then gestured to the six others he had brought along with him.

“I have also brought you the heinous criminals responsible for the abduction of you daughter.” He added.

A few soldiers pushed the group towards the Pharaoh while another dropped their weapons on the ground before them, as well as a leather satchel. There were two canes that looked almost identical, a pair of scimitars with a similar shape to the cane, and a strange red weapon.

“As you can see, they were armed and very dangerous.”

The Pharaoh faced the group, his eyes narrowing in anger and pure, unadulterated hatred. He gently ushered his daughter behind him as he addressed the criminals.

“You foul low-lives…” he growled. “I will see you all executed for your heinous crimes.”

The Pharaoh then felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to face his daughter.

“Umm…. Yeah…. About that….”

The Pharaoh blinked in confusion, and so did the Royal Advisor. That was most definitely not Nefetari’s voice. As if to confirm his suspicions, she then reached up and pulled off a wig, letting loose long, wavy black hair.

“Before you go and punish those guys, there’s something you should know…. I’m not Princess Nefetari.”

The Pharaoh backed away in utter shock while the Royal Advisor was completely and utterly frozen. The imposter then walked towards the group of prisoners, approaching the girl in the strange blue garments.

“My name is Sandra Cooper, or Sand of Ra as people here have called me.” She explained as she untied the girl’s wrists.

“What deception is this? The Pharaoh finally managed to say. “Where is my daughter?!”

Sandra pulled the hood off of the girl’s head and removed the black mask from her face.

“I am here father.” The true Princess Nefetari said.

The Pharaoh approached cautiously, examining Nefetari carefully in case this was another trick. However, this time, there was no trick.

“Nefetari… It is really you…”

This time, there was no hesitation in the hug. With Father and Daughter truly reunited, Sandra waited patiently while the Royal Advisor continued to remain frozen. Finally, they released once more and the Pharaoh looked over his daughter.

“Why the deception?” he asked. “Why allow this imposter to take your place?”

“Because Sand of Ra required my assistance to reveal the true criminal behind my abduction.” She explained.

“You see,” Sandra interjected. “These guys here, they’re the Cooper Clan. This is Sly Cooper, Bentley and Murray. This is Carmelita, and this is Slytunkhamen Cooper. They’re the ones who really saved your daughter. In fact, Slytunkhamen here practically got himself killed twice trying to bring your daughter home.”

“The true criminal is the Royal Advisor.” Nefetari explained. “He is the one who orchestrated this entire plan.”

The Pharaoh turned on the Royal advisor with venomous hatred in his eyes.

“What?!” he exclaimed.

The Royal advisor gulped and held up his wings.

“I assure you, Your Highness, she is gravely mistaken.”

“Are you calling my daughter a liar?!” The Pharaoh shouted.

The Royal Advisor shook his head quickly. He went to explain, but Sandra cut him off.

“Save it, Clockwerk.” She snapped. “You’ll just dig yourself a deeper hole.”

The Royal Advisor just stood there, unsure of what to do as Sandra and Nefetari freed their friends. Slytunkhamen, once freed, bowed before the Pharaoh.

“If I may, my allies and I can explain everything for you.” He offered.

The Pharaoh looked down at him, then gave a nod of consent. Slytunkhamen rose and explained.

“The Royal Advisor, to whom my allies refer to as Clockwerk, desires the Throne of Egypt and sought to take it through marriage to Princess Nefetari.”

“However, I would never marry him.” Nefetari added. “My heart belongs to Slytunkhamen.”

“Clockwerk sought to drive a wedge between us by arranging her kidnapping and placing the blame on me.”

That’s when Sly stepped forward.

“When Slytunkhamen told me about what happened, I went to confront him, only to find myself locked away.” Sly explained.

“And when I went in search of them both, I too was captured.” Slytunkhamen stated.

“We managed to rescue Slytunkhamen, and he told us what happened.” Bentley explained. “And we knew that Clockwerk was behind it.”

“He’s very well-known where we come from.” Carmelita commented. “He’s a master criminal, a murderer, and a manipulative liar.”

“We also knew he was close to you, and if he pinned the blame of the crime on us, nothing we said would convince you we were telling the truth.” Sandra added.

“So we switched The Princess for Sandra.” Murray finished.

Nefetari approached her father, taking his arm.

“The deception was necessary to prove that the Royal Advisor was not the bird we believed him to be.”

By now, Clockwerk was looking absolutely terrified, his head swiveling left and right as if searching for an escape route. However, the soldiers who had once been guarding the Cooper Gang were now surrounding the bird with increasingly angry expressions. The Pharaoh faced Clockwerk, his expression downright murderous.

“I trusted you… I put my faith in you, and all this time, you were nothing more than a fraud, a criminal…”

“Your Highness-”

“SILENCE!!”

Everyone jumped at the Pharaoh’s bellow. He approached Clockwerk, snatching the Royal Advisor headdress off his head with an angry swipe.

“I will see you suffer for this, for the rest of your miserable life.” He promised. “TAKE HIM AWAY!”

The guards seized Clockwerk none too gently and dragged him towards the doors. With the reality of his failure sinking in, his paralyzing fear turned immediately to anger.

“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT COOPER CLAN!!!” he snapped. “I WILL NOT FORGET THIS!! YOU WILL SUFFER FOR THIS!!! YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY LINE WILL SUFFER MY WRATH!!”

The doors slammed shut, cutting off Clockwerk’s angry cries. Sandra and Sly exchanged sad, knowing glances at Clockwerk’s final promise.

“Yeah…” Sly said sadly. “We know…”

The Pharaoh approached the Cooper Gang with a grateful expression on his face.

“I owe all of you a debt of gratitude.” He said. “If there is anything you need or want, you will have it.”

Bentley and Murray went over to Sly, Bentley snagging Sly’s cane up off the floor. He handed it to Sly, smiling up at his friend.

“We have the only thing we came here for.” Bentley replied.

“Yeah.” Murray added, clapping Sly on the shoulder. “Now that we’ve got Sly back, our gang is complete once more.”

The Pharaoh smiled, then looked at Carmelita and Sandra.

“What of you?” he asked.

Sandra picked up her cane and satchel, then tossed Carmelita’s shock pistol at her.

“I’m just here for Sly Cooper.” Carmelita replied as she examined her gun for any damage.

“And what I want, you can’t give me.” Sandra added.

The Pharaoh gave an understanding nod, then finally turned to Slytunkhamen. He was reclaiming his scimitars, but his focus was on Princess Nefetari. His eyes were full of love and genuine kindness unlike anything the Pharaoh had seen before.

“And you, Slytunkhamen.”

The raccoon straightened, facing the Pharaoh.

“You are the one who holds my daughter’s heart.” He said.

“Yes, Your Highness.” Slytunkhamen replied. “I would lay down my life for her.”

“Considering the lengths you went to in order to rescue her, what you were willing to sacrifice to ensure her safety, I can think of no man more worthy of her heart, or her hand, more than you.”

Nefetari and Slytunkhamen both looked at the Pharaoh in surprise, then looked at each other. Within a blink of an eye, the two were embracing kissing passionately. The Cooper Gang watched for a minute, all of them smiling.

“If only he knew who Slytunkhamen truly was.” Carmelita whispered.

“Don’t ruin this.” Bentley whispered back.

The two lovers released each other and Nefetari turned to Sandra.

“Sand of Ra.” She said. “Now that everything is done, perhaps I can return your garments to you.”

Sandra, who had almost completely forgotten she was still wearing the Princess’ clothes, quickly nodded.

“Definitely.” She replied. “This dress is nice and all, but I like my clothes a bit better.”

Nefetari nodded and gestured for Sandra to follow her. Sandra went to do so, turning back to the gang.

“I’ll meet up with you guys later.” She promised. “I’m sure you guys have some catching up to do.”

Sly looked over at his gang members, then over at Carmelita. Just looking at her reminded him of the last time he had seen her, and how they hadn’t been on the best of terms.

“Yeah…” he muttered. “We do.”

…..

The gang returned to the hideout after making a pit-stop over by Slytunkhamen’s home. There, Sly grabbed a small parcel that was hidden beneath the floor. Saying goodbye to Slytunkhamen, they entered the hideout, where Sly opened the parcel to reveal his trademark outfit.

“Oh how I’ve missed you.” He said as he took off his Egyptian headdress.

Sly began slipping out of his Egyptian clothing, Carmelita watched over him, her face an unreadable mask. Bentley and Murray noticed that face and exchanged worried glances.

“Hey, umm… Murray. Come help me do some… uhh... tune-ups to the time machine.” Bentley suggested.

“Right.” Murray agreed.

The two quickly left the hideout, leaving Carmelita and Sly alone. The raccoon hesitantly emerged from the room, pulling his hat onto his head. For a minute they just stood there, looking anywhere but at each other. Finally, Carmelita broke the silence by handing him a familiar brown backpack.

“This is yours.” She said, handing it to him.

Sly took the backpack, surprised to see it. The last time he had seen it was when Le Paradox had stolen it from him, using it to escape the time blimp.

“How did you-?”

“It was recovered from the scene after Le Paradox was arrested.” Carmelita explained. “I took it as evidence.”

Sly slipped the backpack on, and the uncomfortable silence returned for a minute. Taking a deep breath, Sly tried to speak again.

“Carmelita, I-”

“What happened up there, Sly?” Carmelita interrupted.

“What?”

“What happened up in that blimp after we escaped?”

Sly sat down at the table and Carmelita joined him. Placing his arms on the table, Sly began his story.

“I fought Le Paradox…” he said. “Sword vs. cane all across that blimp. It was disintegrating beneath us with every step we took, but we both kept fighting. We were almost evenly matched, but I managed to catch him off guard and he nearly fell of the remains of that blimp.”

“Nearly?”

Sly looked down at his hands.

“I’m a thief… not a murderer… I couldn’t just let him fall. So, I took his arm in order to pull him back to safety. Unfortunately, he double-crossed me and stole my backpack, my only escape route, and used it to get off the blimp.”

Sly leaned back in his chair, remembering the events as if they were yesterday.

“After that, I was clinging to that ruined blimp for dear life as the time tunnel swallowed me… The entire time I was tossed around like a hacky-sack, all I could think about…. Was you.”

Carmelita looked over at Sly in surprise.

“Me?”

Sly sat up and met Carmelita right in the eye.

“Remember back on Kaine Island, when that monster was about to crush me and eat me?” he asked.

Carmelita nodded.

“My entire life flashed before my eyes in that moment, and you know what my biggest regret was?”

“What?” she whispered.

Sly reached for Carmelita, his gloved hand gently taking hers.

“Not having the courage to take the next step with you.” He replied. “I was a coward, perfectly content with the occasional flirting and intimate rendezvous. But, after seeing Bentley with Penelope…. You know, before she turned on us… I realized just how big a fool I’d been.”

Carmelita spoke up after that.

“I guess we were both fools.” She said. “When I saw that monster about to kill you, all I could think was ‘Not him’… Later, I tried to justify myself by saying that I couldn’t have you face justice if you were dead… but in the end…”

Carmelita looked away at that.

“Then Dr. M knocked you out.” She said. “And I was so angry to the point that I nearly killed him. Then you claimed to have amnesia, and I saw my chance.”

“I actually did have amnesia.” Sly interjected.

Carmelita blinked in surprise.

“You did?” she asked.

Sly shrugged.

“For about 10 or 20 minutes…” he explained. “But it was enough…”

“Then… you…”

“I chose to be Constable Cooper.” Sly replied. “I chose to give up being Sly Cooper for a chance to be with you. I left my cane, my gadgets… I even left the Thievius Raccoonus on that island.”

Carmelita felt tears in her eyes. She had never really thought about what Sly had given up to be with her. In fact, part of her had feared that he had pretended to have amnesia as part of one of his nefarious scheme.

“You…. You were willing to give up everything that made you…. You?” she asked.

Sly nodded.

“Just like you were willing to put your entire career on the line to ensure that Sly Cooper could disappear and Constable Cooper could live.”

Carmelita gasped in surprise.

“You… you knew about that?”

“I could hear Director Barkley from across the station when you brought me in.” Sly said with a chuckle. “I lost count of how many timed he told you it would never work, that it was all a lie. And yet, you were adamant that I be given a chance. I still don’t know how you did it, but I’ll admit, it was a bit of a shock when I had that badge in my hand.”

Sly then reached into his gadget pouch that he kept strapped to his leg, pulling out that INTERPOL badge. Carmelita looked over as Sly opened it, remembering all the cases they had solved together, all the criminals they had taken down as official partners.

“I’ll admit, it was fun being on the other side of the shock pistol.” He joked, eliciting a small chuckle from Carmelita. “But… It’s not who I am…”

He closed the badge, slipping it back into his gadget pouch.

“I’m a master thief. My father was a thief, my mother was a thief, my entire family line is made up of master thieves… it’s in my blood.”

“I know Sly.” Carmelita reminded him. “I’ve met Tennessee, Sir Galleth, ‘Bob’, Salim al Kupar… I’ve met your ancestors. I’ve even met your descendant, and it’s quite obvious what her profession is.”

“Then you know that the name Cooper is practically synonymous with thief.” Sly remarked.

Carmelita nodded.

“Yes…. And I never should have tried to change that.”

The tears she had been holding back finally began to fall.

“I’m sorry Sly… I’m sorry I lied to you, I’m sorry I manipulated you…”

Sly gently took hold of her face, wiping the tears away.

“Carmelita, if anyone should be sorry, it’s me. I’m the one who lied for eight years… It’s all I thought about when that blimp went down, how I had never gotten the chance to tell you just how sorry I was.”

Carmelita couldn’t hold it back anymore. She began fully crying as Sly held her, stroking her hair gently.

“I’m sorry…” She whispered in between sobs.

“Me too…” Sly replied.

…..

Sandra pulled her hoodie over her head, her wild hair going everywhere as she did. She looked at herself in the large mirror in the Princess’ room and giggled.

“Do you have a comb?” she asked.

Princess Nefetari gestured for one of her handmaidens to come and help Sandra. The latter set down as the handmaiden took a brush and began to tame the beast that was Sandra’s hair. Nefetari, now back in her proper garments, approached Sandra. She had something in her hands that looked like a folded piece of paper.

“I found this in the pouch of your garments.” Nefetari explained, unfolding the paper to reveal Sandra’s photograph. “What is this?”

Sandra’s eyes widened and she instinctively felt her pocket where that photo was kept. Almost panicked, she snatched the photo back, clutching it tightly.

“That’s mine.” She replied quickly.

Nefetari examined Sandra as she examined the photo, her gloved hand gently caressing the koala and bear depicted in the photo.

“Are those two your friends?” Nefetari asked.

Sandra gave a small nod.

“More like family than friends.” She said, her voice choked with emotion.

“I did not see them amongst my rescuers.” Nefetari noted. “Where are they?”

Sandra’s grip on the photo tightened and she squeezed her eyes shut.

“I don’t know…” she whispered.

Nefetari waved the handmaidens away, taking the brush herself and running it through Sandra’s hair. Sandra just sat there, tear drops falling onto the photograph.

“Are they in trouble?” Nefetari asked.

Sandra’s tears increased as she nodded her head.

“Yes…”

“Is that what you meant when you said what you wanted my father couldn’t give to you?”

“Yes…”

Nefetari set the brush aside, sitting next to Sandra again.

“What about my rescuers?” Nefetari asked. “Your other friends… Can they help you?”

Sandra looked down at the photo again and sniffed.

“I hope so…”

…..

Carmelita cried in Sly’s arms for a good five minutes before she was able to regain control of herself. The entire time, Sly just held her, comforting her. Soon, she pulled away and wiped her eyes.

“So where do we go from here?” Sly asked.

Carmelita shook her head.

“I honestly don’t know.” She replied. “I want to be with you Sly… but I want to be with Sly Cooper, not Constable Cooper.”

“I agree.” Sly said with a nod. “I want to try again, but this time, no lies… no deceptions… and hopefully no shock pistol.”

That comment caused the both of them to bust out into fits of laughter, a welcomed sensation to the two, who had spent three years regretting what they hadn’t said or done. Once the fits of laughter died away, Carmelita smiled.

“I’d like that.” She said finally. “I’d like that a lot. No promises on the shock pistol though, ring-tail.”

Sly smirked.

“I think I can live with that.”

He then leaned back in his chair and called out towards the door.

“You two can stop listening in now guys!” He shouted.

Outside the door, the two could hear Murray scrambling to his feet and Bentley’s wheel’s spinning in the sand as the door opened.

“We…. Uhh…” Murray tried.

Sly just waved them down and stood up.

“The time machine ready to go?” he asked.

“Yep.” Bentley replied. “We can leave whenever we want.”

“Wait.” Carmelita interjected. “What about Sandra?”

“Isn’t she still at the Palace with the Princess?” Murray asked.

“I guess so.” Carmelita allowed. “Shouldn’t we wait for her?”

“Doesn’t she have her own time machine?” Bentley asked.

“Yeah, if she’s really from the future, then she’d have to come via time machine.” Sly questioned.

Carmelita shrugged and shook her head.

“I didn’t see one when she appeared in my office.” She explained. “She just sort of… showed up in this big ball of lightning… like when Le Paradox sent me to the Old West.”

“Well, if that’s the case, then maybe we can give her a lift back to her own time.” Bentley suggested.

“Could be fun.” Sly remarked, settling back into his seat. “I’m kind of curious to see what kind of place the future is like.”

…..

Sandra returned to the hideout about 20 minutes later, where the Cooper gang greeted her happily.

“We were wondering when you’d show up!” Murray happily exclaimed.

“We didn’t know if you needed a ride back to your own time, so we stuck around just in case.” Bentley explained.

Sandra didn’t say a word. In fact, she didn’t even meet the gang’s eyes. She kept her gaze on the sand, her hands shaking slightly. Sly was the first to catch on.

“Hey…. Are you alright?” he asked.

Sandra looked up, and that’s when the gang saw the tears pouring from her eyes.

“No….” she said finally. “I’m not alright…. I haven’t been alright…”

She fell to her knees in the sand where the gang converged on her. Sly and Carmelita both held Sandra as Murray and Bentley got in close.

“What’s wrong?” Carmelita asked.

Sandra sniffed, then reached into her pocket and pulled out the folded photograph.

“I didn’t…. I didn’t just travel through time to rescue Sly…” she said slowly. “I need your help…”

Unfolding the photo, she showed it to the Cooper Gang.

“These are my friends… my gang back home… And… And…”

The tears prevented her from finishing her sentence, but everyone could figure out what she was trying to say.

“They’re in trouble, aren’t they?” Sly asked.

Sandra’s sobs increased as she nodded. Bentley’s wheelchair produced a tissue, holding it out towards the red raccoon. She took it and wiped her eyes before trying to talk again.

“What I told you before was true… we raided Slytunkhamen’s tomb, gave his remains a proper funeral in the Cooper Vault, and found the cryptile with Sly’s story…. But… I didn’t tell you what happened after…”

Sandra took hold of a golden chain around her neck, pulling a fair sized watch out from underneath her hoodie.

“Benjy, the brains of our group… he built this so we could travel through time.”

Bentley reached for the watch, which Sandra allowed, and examined it. It resembled a normal watch, but he could see the subtle machinery hidden behind the clock face.

“This is your time machine?” Bentley questioned. “It’s so tiny.”

“The technology of my time is 110 years more advanced than yours, remember?” Sandra reminded him. “Besides, it was designed to be hooked up to the dashboard of our RV…”

“So, your friends were supposed to come with you on this adventure…” Murray stated.

Sandra nodded.

“We were gonna go everywhere, see everyone. Meet every Cooper from ‘Bob’ up to you Sly… Heh… We even packed enough cameras to take photos of everywhere we went.”

“But…?” Carmelita asked.

“But… The night we were supposed to leave, the warehouse we were hiding out in was attacked….”

Sandra cringed at the memory, flashes of the intruders busting through the door still causing her to jump.

“It all happened so fast, we didn’t even have time to react…. Soon, these intruders had us rounded up and were demanding the Time Machine…. And the Thievius Raccoonus…”

Sly thought back to his childhood, and how the Fiendish Five had done the same thing with his parents looking for the book. He squeezed Sandra’s shoulder in assurance, a gesture Carmelita noticed as well.

“What happened next?” Sly asked softly.

Sandra’s tears threatened to come back, but she knew she had to get the story out now, or she wouldn’t be able to later.

“Marcus… the brawn of our group… he bought me and Benjy a few minutes to grab the Time Machine off the dashboard. Benjy set the time, clicked it, and slipped it on my neck….. He told me to find help….”

She hugged herself tightly as she heard Benjy’s frantic request playing in her head.

_Find help, Sandra! Go find help then come back!_

_BENJY!!_

The tears fell again as she finished her tale.

“The last thing I saw…. Before the Time Stream swallowed me…. Was the intruders grabbing Benjy and reaching for me…. They were pissed I got away…. And… and…”

“And you’re afraid they took that anger out on your friends.” Bentley surmised. “You’re afraid they’re-”

Sly elbowed the turtle hard, cutting him off before he could say that dreaded four letter word. As Sandra cried in the sand, a question came to Carmelita’s mind.

“Why didn’t you tell us all this in the beginning?” she asked.

Sandra snorted through the tears, looking up.

“You were about to shoot me when I first showed up, Bentley nearly darted me when he saw me, and frankly, I was half afraid Murray would crush me when he saw me.” She explained. “I needed to earn your trust before I asked for your help.”

Sandra’s reasoning was sound. The Cooper Gang had done the same thing when they had gathered up a larger team for the Cooper Vault Job, and when they had saved Sly’s ancestors from le Paradox.

“I knew you were hiding something.” Bentley muttered. “I just never imagined it was something so… big.”

Sandra looked up almost desperately.

“Will you help me?” she asked.

Everyone just smiled down at her, then Sly and Carmelita stood, offering her a hand up. Sandra took the help and wiped her eyes.

“Of course we’ll help you.” Sly told her. “It’s what we Coopers do.”

Sandra smiled, hugging Sly tightly. He had to take a step back, but hugged her back. When they were done, Bentley interjected.

“Considering your time machine seems to only be able to transport one person, we’ll have to take ours. But we’ll need something from your era to get there.”

Sandra slipped the time machine off her neck and tossed it to him.

“That should work, right?”

Bentley’s wheelchair arms grabbed the watch and the turtle smiled.

“Yep. Just give me a few minutes and we’ll be ready to go.”

Murray climbed into the driver’s seat while Bentley fiddled with the van’s time machine. Sly climbed into the passenger seat while Carmelita and Sandra sat in the back. Carmelita gave Sandra a reassuring hug.

“Don’t worry. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from chasing Sly down all these years, it’s that he and his crew can do the impossible.”

Sandra smiled, looking down at her photo once more.

“I know.” She replied. “I know.”

The Time machine started whirring to life and everyone began strapping themselves in.

“Next stop, The Future!!” Murray exclaimed.

There was a bright flash of light and the van disappeared.


	5. Rooftops and Ringtails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sandra and the Cooper Gang arrive in the future, where they must scramble to locate Sandra's missing team, as well as find out who it is that nearly killed them to begin with.

Paris France, 110 years into the future.

The Cooper Van arrived in the future with a mighty crack and a flash of light. Once the light died away, everyone looked around hoping for a glimpse of what the future looked like. However, they were disappointed to see that not much had changed.

“Are you sure that we’re in the future?” Murray asked. “I thought it would be more…. Futuristic…”

Sandra just shrugged.

“What can I say? The more things change, the more they stay the same. The rich live it up, the poor search for scraps, crime runs rampant, and the police get stricter.”

The van passed what looked like a telephone pole, only it was made of metal, and there were no wires running between them. On the pole was a holographic poster with Sandra’s face emblazoned upon it with the word WANTED above it.

“Looks like wanted posters of telephone poles are still a thing.” Sly remarked.

“Those are Central Connection Units, or CCU’s” Sandra explained. “Think TV, the internet, and telephone all mixed into one single transmission.”

Bentley looked at another one of the CCU towers in fascination.

“Good to know some things have changed.” He commented. “Does the CCU have phone robots?”

“Nope.” Sandra said with a cheeky grin. “Those helplines were discontinued, replaced with an A.I. system that can actually help you rather than send you around in circles or tell you how to make a shrimp cocktail.”

Bentley raised an eyebrow at that last comment and Sandra gave him a wink. Then she noticed where they were and called out.

“Stop!”

Murray hit the brakes hard, sending everyone shooting forward. Luckily, everyone was wearing their seatbelts and Bentley’s chair had been locked into position in the van. As everyone recovered from the sudden braking, Sly turned to Sandra with a slightly annoyed look.

“A bit more warning next time.” He said.

“Sorry.” Sandra replied, unhooking her seatbelt and snagging her time machine from Bentley’s. “But we’re really close, and I don’t want to risk Garrett or those intruders catching sight of the van.”

She opened the door to the van, slipping the watch around her neck.

“We can stash the van in this backstreet while we take a look at the warehouse.” She explained. “The security cameras in this area never work. It’s why we chose to use a warehouse in this part of the city.”

Everyone unbuckled and climbed out, but Sly stopped Murray from leaving the van.

“Hold up big guy.” He said. “I need you to stay with the van this go around.”

“Aww…” Murray groaned. “But why?”

“Because, we don’t know what’s waiting for us, or even who we’re dealing with. We may need to wait a quick escape, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have behind the wheel if that’s the case.”

Murray’s spirits slightly lifted with that, and he gave a nod.

“Alright, Sly.” He said. “I’ll keep the van running for you guys.”

Sly clapped the hippo on the shoulder, then joined the rest of the group. Together, they slipped around the corner and over to a section of the sidewalk marked off my holographic police tape.

“The police have been here.” Sandra commented with a note of relief in her voice. “Good.”

Bentley eyed Sandra curiously.

“How does the police investigating one of your safe houses classify as a good thing?”

“Because that means Garrett got the S.O.S call I sent after we got attacked and came looking… Knowing how fast he is when he so much as hears the name Cooper, then the chances of my friends being alive just went up.”

Sandra practically sprinted up to the police tape, the rest of the Cooper gang following suit. As they got closer, they could see the large door of the warehouse, which appeared to have been literally torn open. The sight made Sly, Carmelita, and Bentley all pause.

“ _Dios Mio…_ ” Carmelita swore.

“What could have done this?” Sly wondered.

“I haven’t seen this kind of destruction since our battles with Clockwerk and Clock-la.” Bentley commented.

“Just wait until we get inside.” Sandra warned. “But be careful. Cross that tape and a silent alarm is sent straight to the police, and odds are, directly to Garrett.”

Sandra went to slip underneath the holographic tape, but Carmelita grabbed her shoulder.

“What are you doing?” the Inspector asked.

Sandra looked at Carmelita in confusion.

“I’m going inside.”

“You’re about to interfere with a police crime scene.” Carmelita clarified.

Sandra tilted her head.

“And?” she asked.

“What do you mean, ‘and’?” Carmelita demanded.

“I mean, what makes you think the thought of interfering with a police investigation will stop me from crossing that tape and finding out what happened to my friends?” Sandra asked. “Or have you forgotten what my last name is?”

Sandra gently pulled her arm free and slipped underneath the tape. Sly approached it next, facing Carmelita.

“You’ve seen what I’m willing to do for Bentley or Murray, or even you, and what they’re willing to do for me.” He told her. “We’d literally risk life and limb for each other, so crossing a police line is no big deal.”

He too slipped under the line as Bentley came forward.

“Besides,” The turtle added. “Considering what you’ve helped us do already, crossing a police line is the least of the crime’s you’ve committed.”

That threw Carmelita for a loop.

“What?!”

“Well, think about it.” Bentley explained. “You let two known associates of a wanted criminal, i.e. Sly, roam free for three years, you aided and abetted said associates into returning Sly to the streets, you helped to break another criminal out of prison, and now you’re aiding not one, but two Coopers in their criminal endeavors.”

Bentley hit the thrusters on his chair and he went flying over the tape, landing safely on the other side. He turned back to Carmelita with a knowing smile that rivaled Sly’s trademark smirk.

“Coming?”

Carmelita stood there for a minute as Bentley’s words sunk in. Finally, she let out a resigned sigh and slipped under the tape. She rejoined the others, who were looking around the warehouse. The entire place looked like a warzone, with bullet holes and gouges that could only be described as claw marks.

“Holy _Frijoles_ …” Carmelita whispered. “You weren’t kidding before.”

“Nope…” Sandra muttered, her attention on the ground as she scanned for clues. “The RV’s gone, meaning it probably got impounded.”

“I don’t see anything slightly indicating this is a murder scene.” Sly commented. “No blood… no outlines…”

“Sandra!” Bentley called.

Sandra turned so fast she may have given herself whiplash. She spotted the turtle over by what the gang could only guess what some sort of futuristic computer terminal. There was a red light flashing in the corner of the screen that resembled a phone being crossed out.

“One missed call…” Sandra said as she walked over. “From whom?”

“I don’t know.” Bentley replied as he rolled in front of the holographic keyboard. “The terminal’s password protected. I can hack into it, but it would be easier if I could use your username and password to get in.”

Sandra quickly supplied the necessary information.

“My username’s FoxyRingTail937, capital F, R, and T.”

Sly snickered slightly at the username while Carmelita raised an eyebrow at Sly’s reaction. Bentley typed it in then switched over to the password bar.

“Password?” he asked

“NSPKTRGRRTT29158303, all caps.”

Bentley gave a whistle at the code.

“Impressive. That one would take a while to crack.”

Sly, however, started to laugh even harder. Carmelita finally asked.

“What’s so funny, ring-tail?”

“Her password is Inspector Garrett without the vowels and switching the C for a K, and I’ll bet the numbers are his badge number.” He said in between bouts of laughter.

Sandra gave a shrug, not even bothering to deny it.

“You’re good Sly.” She told him.

Sly wiped his eye, his laughter dying down.

“You are definitely my descendant.” He replied.

The computer terminal dinged, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Alright, I’m in.” Bentley called. “Bringing up the missed call, now.

The screen brightened immediately, and was then dominated by a picture of a male wolf with grey and white fur. He had bright blue eyes, and was wearing a dress shirt with an INTERPOL badge pinned to his left pocket.

“Garrett.” Sandra said. “He called me not long after I was sent away.”

“That’s Inspector Garrett?” Sly asked, examining the picture curiously.

“Yep. Inspector Garrett Lupine, head of the INTERPOL Cooper Task Force.”

Sly turned to Sandra with a surprised, and slightly excited, look.

“We have a task force?”

“Yep.” Sandra replied with a happy nod.

“I can’t believe you two are happy about that.” Carmelita said with a shake of her head.

The two Coopers both gave an identical shrug, then rested their respective canes on their shoulders, more proof they were related. Sandra’s attention then returned to the screen, where she squinted at the date next to the missed call, then at the date in the bottom right corner of the screen.

“That can’t be right….” She muttered.

“What do you mean?” Bentley asked.

“Look at the time difference between the missed call and today’s date.” She pointed out. “If its right, then that means it’s been two months since this call was placed.”

“Two months?” Carmelita asked. “But that’s impossible.”

“Yeah.” Bentley added. “You were only in our time for about a week, and we were only in Egypt for a few days.”

Sandra pulled her time machine out from under her hoodie, holding it in her hand.

“Those missing weeks must be from when I was stuck in the Time Stream….” She surmised. “Benjy said there were some flaws… and he was in a bit of a rush when he set it…”

“We can worry about that later.” Sly interrupted. “Right now, why don’t we see what your Inspector has to say?”

Sandra nodded and Bentley hit the play button. Of course, the first thing it played was Sandra’s voicemail message.

“ ** _Hello world, if you’re calling this number and you don’t recognize my voice, then hang up because you’ve dialed the wrong girl. If you do, then you’re one of three people. If you’re the first two, you know what to do to get ahold of me. If you’re the third, then I have this message for you…. Better luck next time Inspector Garrett. Feel free to leave your usual rant about throwing me in prison and destroying the key after the beep. X’s and O’s!_** ”

Sly was on the verge of laughter once more, and this time, Bentley was right alongside him. Even Carmelita couldn’t hold back a snicker. The laughter died when the line beeped and a deep somber voice came onto the speakers.

“ ** _Sandra… It’s me… I don’t know where you are, and your gang is too stubborn to tell me. Heh… gotta give you credit on choosing loyal friends if anything… But I know you’ll eventually return here, and I know you’ll be worried about Benjamin and Marcus…_** ”

“You know me so well, Garrett.” Sandra muttered.

“ ** _I don’t know why I’m even telling you this, but I guess I owe you for back in Budapest… They’re alive. They’re pretty banged up, but they’re alive._** ”

Sandra practically sank to the ground at those words. Tears of relief made her eyes go misty.

“Thank Heavens…” she sobbed.

“ ** _I don’t know what’s going on, or who attacked you, but I can promise you I’m going to find out. I can also promise you that your friends will get the medical help they need. They’ll be kept under 24 hour guard, meaning that neither you, nor whomever attacked you, will be able to get to them._** ”

Sandra sat up, wiping her eyes.

“See Bentley?” She said. “Garrett showing up was definitely a good thing.”

“I can see that now.” Bentley commented. “But your friends are still in police custody.”

“Better police custody than dead.” Sandra replied.

“ ** _Sandra… I’m standing in your warehouse, looking at what I can only describe as a warzone… I’m begging you, don’t go up against these guys… Don’t go looking for vengeance or a chance to get even… you’ll just get yourself killed… Come turn yourself in… I give you my word that I won’t let whomever did this get to you, or to your friends… Just turn yourself in and let INTERPOL deal with these criminals… for your own sake…_** ”

There was the second beep, indicating the end of the message. Once it was over, Sandra picked herself up off the ground, a serious expression on her face.

“Sorry Garrett…” she said, “But these guys hurt my friends. This is personal now.”

Bentley switched off the terminal, turning his chair around.

“Do you need anything from here, Sandra?” he asked.

Sandra looked around the trashed warehouse, shaking her head.

“No… I’m good.”

“Good, because we better get out of here and figure out a plan.”

Sandra cracked her knuckles, walking towards the door.

“Don’t worry guys… I’m coming.”

…..

The gang established a safe house right in the middle of downtown Paris, in an old apartment building with its own parking garage. After taking a quick look around to make sure nobody saw them and there were no camera’s or bugs, they all gathered together to discuss the net steps.

“Alright.” Bentley started out. “I’m sure we all know the drill by now. We’re gonna need some reconnaissance on the area before we make our move. Sandra?”

Sandra pulled out a map of downtown Paris, spreading it across the table.

“We’ve got three targets we need to focus on.” Sandra said, pointing towards a building circled on the map. “The first, is here. _Le Hospitalier centrale de Paris_. It’s the closest hospital from INTERPOL headquarters, meaning if something went wrong, Garrett would be there in a cinch.”

“We’ll need to figure out what kind of security INTERPOL has on Benjy and Marcus, as well as any possible escape routes.” Bentley explained.

Sandra moved her finger across the map to the second circled building.

“Target number 2 is the police Impound Lot. Along with recovering my friends, we’ll need to recover the RV as well. That thing has been our home for years, and frankly, Marcus would kill me if I let it sit in that lot.”

“Sounds like Marcus and ‘The Murray’ have something in common.” Murray commented.

Sandra smirked, then moved her finger to the final target.

“And finally, Inspector Garrett’s office is target number 3. Considering how long it’s been since the attack, there’s no doubt in my mind he’s begun an investigation, and has gotten enough info to at least give us a place to start with these intruders.”

“Reminds me of when you stole the file I had on the Fiendish Five all those years ago.” Carmelita commented.

“Only, this time, you’re on the other end of the heist.” Sly commented right back.

Carmelita grumbled, hunching in her chair.

“Don’t remind me.”

Sandra stood up, grabbing her cane and turning towards the window.

“Well, come on Sly.” She said. “We got some reconnaissance to do.”

Sly smiled happily, snagging his cane and his spare binoc-u-cam (his old one had died when he was stuck in Egypt and was currently charging) and following Sandra out the window. Carmelita watched them, shaking her head.

“What’s happening to me?” she wondered aloud. “I’m sitting here listening to a plan to break multiple laws, and I’m not placing anybody under arrest.”

Bentley wheeled over to her, placing a hand on her arm.

“I know this is hard for you, but you made your choice when you said you’d help Sandra.” He told her. “I’m sure you were aware of what helping someone with the name Cooper entailed.”

“I know, and I didn’t even hesitate to agree…” Carmelita sighed. “Sly must be rubbing off on me…”

Bentley smirked.

“Well, you did date him for 8 years.”

That earned him a playful push from Carmelita, as well as a small smile.

…..

Sly and Sandra ran across the rooftops, jumping from ledges onto lampposts and back onto the roofs. After a while, it turned from a normal trek across the city into a full-fledged race. The two raccoons streaked across the rooftops, Sly managing to get ahead of her for a bit, until she utilized her Piston Pole Vault to get ahead of him. By the time they arrived at the rooftop across the street from the designated hospital, the two of them were panting lightly, leaning against their canes.

“Man…” Sandra giggled. “I haven’t had somebody race me across the rooftops that wasn’t trying to shoot me with a shock pistol.”

Sly chuckled too, thinking back to all the times Carmelita chased him, whether it was through Mesa City, the Kun Lun Mountains, the Canadian wastes, or just around Paris. He also remembered the first run he ever took, back before the Fiendish Five murdered his parents. His father had him on his shoulders as they raced across Paris, Sly’s childish squeals echoing through the night.

“I’ve had my fair share of Shock Pistol chases, but I do have a fond memory of running with my dad.” he laughed. “What about you?”

Sandra’s laughter died away as she settled onto the rooftop.

“I never really got the chance to run with my parents…” she explained. “They died in a fire when I was 6… I was away at the time, playing Cops and Coopers in the woods outside my home…”

Sly looked over at Sandra, his smile fading. So she was an orphan like him.

“It’s alright though.” Sandra suddenly said, her voice trying to sound cheery but failing miserably. “From the coroner report I stole, they inhaled the smoke before the fire got to them. They never felt a thing.”

Sly went and sat down next to Sandra. The mission could wait for a moment. Right now, he just wanted to learn more about his Great-Great-Granddaughter.

“So what happened to you after the fire?” he asked. “Were you sent to some orphanage?”

Sandra shook her head.

“The police are much stricter than they are in your time, Sly. If they knew I existed, they would have thrown me into the nearest juvenile detention center. Luckily, we were so off the grid that nobody even knew the Coopers had a daughter, giving me the chance to run.”

She leaned back, looking up at the starry sky.

“I ended up on the streets with nothing but my cane, your hat, and the Thievius Raccoonus… It was hard at first, but by the time I was 10, I could pretty much fend for myself.”

Sly gave a nod. Then another question popped into his head.

“So when did you start building a gang?”

Sandra snorted.

“Believe it or not, I didn’t really have any plans on building a gang… It just sort of happened.”

Sly raised an eyebrow and Sandra smiled, explaining her story.

“I met Marcus first… I was…. 15? 16? I never really bothered to keep track of my age…. But yeah, I was teenager, and I was watching this street fight, and this HUGE black bear comes out wearing nothing but a pair of bright blue shorts and a pair of fingerless gloves. He was the reigning champion of the block. Marcus Maximus he was called… anyway, he was fighting this upstart contender and completely wiped the floor with him.”

“But?”

“But, said contender wasn’t exactly a gracious loser and stole all of Marcus’ earnings.”

“And let me guess, you stole them back.”

“Yep. My first heist, I guess you could say. Left a calling card and everything. I returned the money to Marcus, who was actually living in the RV that would later become the Cooper Gang home.”

“Really?”

“Yep. He won’t tell me where he got it, or how long he had it, but it was his home.”

“Sounds like Murray when he showed up with the van one day.”

The two chuckled, then Sandra continued.

“Well, Marcus of course thanked me for returning his money, and he even made me some food for the road as a thank you. Unfortunately, just as I was about to head out, the contender appeared with an entire platoon of his buddies. I’m literally surrounded by the heavily armed goons, and I’m sure I’m about to be seeing stars. However, the next thing I know, this big furry arm grabs me and pulls me back into the RV.”

Sly snorted at that.

“Wait… you’re saying Marcus grabbed you-”

“And yanked me back inside, barricading the door and gunning the engine.” Sandra replied with a chuckle. “Definitely a smart move though. Those guys were armed, and all we had were fists and a cane. He got to safety and after that, we just stuck with each other. Figured fate wanted us together so why fight it?”

“So you got yourself some muscle.”

“Nah… I got a freaking tank with claws. Trust me, you do NOT want to see Marcus angry…. or hungry….. Or scared…. Or basically upset in any way, shape or form.”

Sly’s thoughts drifted to Murray and how the hippo’s temper always seemed to increase his strength, especially when one of his friends was involved. Sly could still hear Octavio’s bones cracking from Murray’s punches after the former had hurt Bentley and knocked him off his wheelchair.

Thinking about Bentley brought Sandra’s second gang member to Sly’s thoughts.

“And what about Benjy?” he asked. “How’d you meet him?”

Sandra smirked.

“He actually found us.” She replied. “It wasn’t long after Marcus and I became friends. We found ourselves being hunted by just about every mob bounty hunter on the payroll.”

“Wait, what?”

“Oh yeah…. That contender Marcus beat and I robbed… turned out he was the mob boss’ son.”

Sly winced, remembering a certain bulldog he’d dealt with on multiple occasions, and how he couldn’t even step foot in America without drawing that dog’s ire.

“So, he convinced dear old dad to put a hit out on you.”

“Yep. It was a bit of a wake-up call actually. We managed to get ahold of the notice for our capture, and all it said about me was that I was a red raccoon with a ‘funny stick’… No name, no nothing.”

Sly’s eyes became the size of dinner plates.

“They didn’t know you were a Cooper?!”

“Nope… My laying low had led not only the police, but the criminal element as well to forget the Cooper name. Not even my calling card rang any bells.”

“Ouch…”

“Tell me about it. I was more upset about that then I was about the hit out on us. I knew I couldn’t let the Cooper name fade away for good, so… Marcus and I came up with a plan. We would rob the mob of all they have and leave their bruised bodies for the police.”

Sly looked skeptical.

“That doesn’t sound like much of a plan.”

“It wasn’t…” Sandra admitted. “And frankly, it failed miserably. We barely made it passed the front door before we were taken down.”

“Sounds like the Italian job Murray and I tried to pull back when Bentley was still in the hospital.”

“Yeah… The mob boss separated us, drawling on and on about how much he was going to make us suffer for insulting his son, then locked us up. I was trying to figure out a plan when something gets dropped into my cell.”

Sandra fished into her ear, pulling out a very futuristic earpiece. Sly looked at it for a minute before handing it back to her.

“At the time, I had no idea what it was until I heard murmuring coming from it.” Sandra explained as she slipped the earpiece back into her ear. “Eventually I realized what it was and put it on, only to here this very annoyed voice with the thickest Australian accent I’ve ever heard shouting at me.”

She immediately began talking in a HORRIBLE Australian accent.

“It’s about bloody time ya figured it out, ya dill! Now, do ya wanna git outta dis lurk, or nah?”

Sly laughed loudly while Bentley, who had been listening in from Sly’s earpiece, groaned.

“That was even worse than Sly’s Italian accent…”

The two raccoons ignored Bentley, Sandra completely caught up in her tale.

“After a bit of translating, I realized he was trying to help me. He opened the door to my cell, and I followed his directions straight to Marcus. Once we were back together, Benjy formally introduced himself, and offered us a deal. He would help us bring down the mob if we freed him first.”

“Freed him?”

“Mob had a hold over him. Apparently his family crossed them when he was really little and… well… you know how well that usually goes. The only reason they spared him was because that guy is scary smart.”

“How smart?”

“Like smart enough to hack into the Kremlin security system while rewriting Beethoven’s unfinished symphony.”

Back in the hideout, Bentley’s eyebrows shot up. Sly was also surprised.

“That’s… scary smart.”

“He’s got an eidetic memory, an IQ of Holy Cow, and wanted nothing more than to actually be challenged, something he wasn’t getting while under the ‘employment’ of the mob. So, we busted him out, and with him, we took down the entire operation, and I personally got to crack the mob bosses skull with my cane.”

Sandra smiled at the memory.

“After that was done, we hightailed it out of there, but not until I left a note for the police.”

“What did it say?”

“What else? The Cooper Family Lives.” Sandra suddenly started chuckling again. “The news headlines blew up after that. All over the world, papers all said the same thing. THE COOPER FAMILY LIVES!!”

Sandra stood up with this big grin on her face after that.

“It’s been years since that day and we’ve been together ever since. The New Cooper Gang, as Garrett dubbed us. We’ve traveled the entire world, bringing down organized crime, robbing master criminals blind, and hitting the occasional private collection or public museum. We’ve had high times and low times, but no matter what, we’ve always been there for each other.”

Her face growing serious once more, she turned towards the hospital.

“Which is why I’m not gonna let them go to jail. Not while I’m still breathing.”

Sly’s expression also grew serious as he stood as well.

“Right.” He agreed. “I think we’ve sat here long enough.”

The two raccoons examined the hospital building. The distance was too far for a jump and there were no lamp posts to do the Ninja Spire Jump. More than that, the police patrolled the streets in droves, their flashlights eliminating the darkened streets. Sly pulled out his binoc-u-cam, focusing on the building.

“Wow…” Bentley whistled. “They have this place locked down tighter than Murray’s pants.”

“Murray wears pants?” Sandra interjected

“That’s beside the point.” Sly told her. “I could get us across that jump with my paraglider, but without enough height, we’d just get grabbed by those officers.”

Bentley got a smile.

“I think Sandra has a way around that little problem.”

Sandra grinned, then grabbed Sly’s arm.

“Hold onto my cane, and try not to scream.”

Sly was a bit nervous, but did as Sandra told him. The red raccoon grinned, then held on as well.

“Now flying, Air Cooper.”

She pressed the button and the two were sent flying into the air. The sudden ascent caught Sly off-guard, but in true cooper fashion, he quickly recovered and pulled out his paraglider. With the controls in one hand and Sandra’s cane in the other, he glided them across the street towards the hospital. Once they were close enough, he released the paraglider and the two Coopers hooked onto the ledge of the building.

“You’re going to have to tell me how you did that later.” Sly told her.

“I know.”

The two got a more solid footing on the ledge, then peered through the window.

“What floor are we on?” Sandra asked.

Sly squinted into the window, peering over at the directory hanging on the wall.

“From the looks of it, the 4th floor.”

A police officer passed by the window and the two Coopers quickly pulled back, hiding in the space between the two windows.

“Police inside as well.” Sandra hissed. “This place really is tighter than Murray’s pants.”

“We’re not going to be able to get them out of the hospital undetected.” Sly hissed back. “There are just too many guards.”

Sandra and Sly shimmied across the ledge towards the other end of the building, looking for another building to jump to.

“If we wait for them to be sent to actual prison, it will be even worse.” Sandra explained as they walked.

“Then we’ll have to hit them in transit.” Bentley suggested. “I’ll start searching for their hospital release time.”

“Thanks Bentley.” Sly replied. “We’ll take a look at that impound lot next.”

There was a lamp post within gliding distance of the hospital and the two Coopers quickly took the escape route provided. Soon, they were safely away from the heavily guarded hospital and headed towards the police impound lot.

There were a few guards patrolling the area, as expected, as well as a heavily locked gate. Behind said gate, Sandra and Sly could make out row after row of impounded cars and motorbikes, each outfitted with a parking boot. Sandra took Sly’s binoc-u-cam, scanning each car until she focused in on a very large, very brightly colored RV with more add ons then a tank engine.

“There it is.” She smiled. “The New Cooper Gang RV.”

“Man, I am picking up some serious readings off of that RV.” Bentley said with a note of surprise. “That thing is packed with more technology than I would’ve thought possible.”

“Benjy got bored.” Sandra replied with a shrug.

Bentley accepted the excuse as Sandra examined the fence surrounding the lot.

“From the looks of this place, it shouldn’t be all that hard to get in.” He surmised. “There’s a loose bit of fence over there that Murray could bust through easily.”

“Question is, will he be able to drive the RV?” Sly asked.

“Can he drive a stick shift?” Sandra asked right back.

Both Sly and Bentley blinked in surprise.

“Cars still use stick shift here in the future?” Bentley sputtered. “I thought everything would be automatic by now.”

“Everything is automatic, and that’s what makes stick shift the perfect anti-theft device. I don’t know how Marcus managed to get the RV in stick shift, but he did.”

“Well then, you have nothing to worry about. The van is a stick as well, so it shouldn’t be too hard for him to drive.”

Sandra handed the binoc-u-cam back to Sly and the two ran off to their final destination; INTERPOL headquarters. As they got closer, Sly couldn’t help but feel a serious sense of Déjà vu. It only got worse when they reached the ledge right across the street from Inspector Garret Lupine’s office.

“Wait a minute… That’s Carmelita’s office.”

Sandra smirked.

“Of course. What other office would the head of the Cooper Task Force use?”

Sly thought about that, and it did make sense.

“Besides, your little route into the building still works. Up to the roof, through the air duct, down the elevator shaft and through the hallway.”

“Really?” Sly asked.

“Yep. I drop in there all the time and leave him little gifts, especially on Valentine’s Day and Christmas.”

“Then why do we need to scope this place out if you know how to get in?” Bentley asked.

“Because Garrett always hides the hard copies of his case files in different spots every time I break in, and frankly, we don’t have time for me to go through every draw to find the right file.”

“Right… That’s a good reason.”

Sly handed Sandra the binoc-u-cam and she focused its sights on Garrett’s office. The wolf was sitting at his desk, a large file in front of him and a small computer terminal open in front of him. On the screen was what looked like one of the nurses from the hospital.

“I need to get closer.”

Before Sly could stop her, Sandra leapt from the roof, hooking onto the ledge right beneath Garrett’s window. Pulling herself onto the ledge, she perked her ears to listen in on Garrett’s call.

“I’m sorry Inspector, but there haven’t been any visitors for Mr. Marcus or Mr. Benjamin.” The nurse told him.

“Nobody…?” Garret asked. “No new nurses going in to check on them, no new officers coming to ensure they’re secure, no strange shadows appearing on the cameras?”

“No, Inspector.” The nurse replied. “I’m sorry.”

Sandra carefully peered through the window, watching as Garrett ran his fingers through his fur. He looked tired, stressed, and just all around bad. He hung up on the nurse, looking down at the file again.

“Damn you, Sandra…” he muttered. “Where the heck are you?”

Sandra wanted so badly to go in there and tell him she was right here, even if it meant getting a shock pistol in the gut. But, if this plan was to work, she needed to remain missing.

Garrett finally gathered up the file, placing it in a locked file cabinet before walking out of his office. Sandra watched him go, then swung back over to the rooftop where Sly was waiting.

“He’s been looking for me…” she told him. “He’s actually worried about me…”

Sly placed a hand on her shoulder, using his other hand to lift Sandra’s chin.

“Then what do you say we make sure that this plan goes down with a bit of a Cooper flare.” He suggested. “Make sure he knows your back.”

Sandra looked up and smiled.

“He’ll be chasing me across the rooftops in no time.”

Sly nodded, and with that, the two Coopers headed back towards the hideout, ready to begin the next step in their operation.


	6. Make a Thief out of You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pieces are being set in motion for the New Cooper Gang to be freed from police custody, but there is still much to be done. More than that, a certain INTERPOL officer finds herself willingly aiding Sly and Sandra, even going so far as to take matters into her own hands. Has Sly rubbed off on Carmelita? Is that a good thing?

Sly and Sandra returned to the safe house, where Bentley was already setting up his usual presentation. Sly sat down on the large couch, scooting right next to Carmelita much to the Inspectors delight and chagrin. Sandra went to join them, but her attention was drawn by Murray, who was digging around in the kitchen.

“Hey Sandra!” he called. “What counts as junk food in this time?”

Sandra shook her head with a small smile, standing up once more and pulling a bag of what looked like hard candies out of her satchel.

“Here.” She said, tossing the hippo the bag. “They’re called Neutrons. They’ve got a little bit of each candy mixed in. They’re Marcus’ favorite so I always keep some on me. There should also be some Pitt Cola in the pantry.”

Murray looked in the pantry and fished out a large, rainbow colored can with the word PITT emblazoned upon it. Settling down with his snacks on the couch, he began munching away as Bentley began his presentation.

“Okay, with the intel we’ve gathered so far, I think I’ve come up with a plan. However, it’s going to take a bit more work before we can initiate the operation.”

Bentley brought up some of the surveillance footage of Garrett’s office.

“We’ve already got a way into Inspector Garrett’s office…”

He switched the footage to that of the Impound Lot.

“… And Murray’s strength can easily take down that fence. However, there is one target that is nigh impossible to get to.”

He switched the footage once more to show the hospital.

“Benjy and Marcus…” Sandra muttered.

“Exactly.” Bentley replied. “We’ve already determined that it is impossible to get those two out of that hospital without getting caught. That means we’ll have to wait for the police to take them out of the hospital.”

Switching footage once more, he brought up a computer screenshot with a schedule printed on it.

“I managed to hack into the hospital records and I found that our friends are set to be officially released from the hospital in two days at 8pm. If Inspector Garrett is anything like you, Carmelita, than he’ll have both Benjy and Marcus in the back of a transport van headed to the prison by 8:01.”

“Our only chance at freeing them is by hijacking that van.” Sly realized.

“That’s correct.” Bentley nodded. “However, Murray’s gonna be pulling a Grand Theft Auto with the New Cooper Gang’s RV, Sandra’s going to be getting the file from Inspector Garrett’s office, and neither of you know how to drive stick.”

“Well, what do you suggest, Bentley?” Carmelita asked.

“A little… deception.”

Carmelita raised an eyebrow in confusion, but Sly immediately caught on.

“You want us to disguise ourselves as the van drivers.”

Sandra jolted up, a major red flag going up.

“Ummm, that won’t work.” She said.

Bentley turned to Sandra.

“Why not?” he asked.

“Because I’ve done that before, and now, he checks every new cop that shows up, running their names and badge numbers through the system. If you don’t show up, you’ll find yourself in handcuffs before you can say ‘Oops’.”

Bentley smirked at Sandra, shaking his head.

“Ye of little faith.” He told her. “I figured that would be the case, that’s why I’m going to add Carmelita and Sly’s INTERPOL files into the system.”

That made Carmelita blink in surprise.

“You have our INTERPOL files?” she demanded.

“That’s right. Sly always kept an updated copy of your file on the hard drive, and after he became ‘Constable Cooper’, I made sure to keep a copy of his, just to make sure he was alright. All I need to do is switch out some dates, edit some information on Sly’s file, and we’ll have two officers on the inside.”

Sly smirked, putting an arm around Carmelita.

“Looks like we’re gonna be working together again, ‘partner’.”

“Don’t get comfortable, Sly.” Bentley interjected. “It’s gonna take more than some files to make you guys INTERPOL officers again. You’re gonna need uniforms, and you’re gonna have to get them without raising an alarm.”

“The policeman’s laundromat.” Sandra suggested. “Stuff goes missing in there all the time. Nobody will even raise an eyebrow to a pair of uniforms disappearing.”

“Good thinking.” Bentley told her, then he turned back to his screen. “Finally, there’s one last thing we’ll need to take care of. The two officers that are supposed to drive the van can NOT be allowed to make it to work that day.”

“Meaning we stall them?” Murray asked.

“Meaning we waylay them. I’m thinking a bout of food poisoning should do the trick.”

Carmelita leaned forward at that.

“Food poisoning?”

“It’s the only way to incapacitate them without drawing suspicion. Once you guys have the uniforms, you and Sly will have to infiltrate the INTERPOL mess hall and poison the food. Nothing major, just enough that they won’t be making it to work for the next few days.”

Carmelita was still incredulous, but she gave a small, albeit reluctant, nod. Bentley shut off his presentation, wheeling towards the door of the safe house.

“I’ll have to hack into INTERPOL’s system before we can go forward with the other preparations. I’ll be back soon.”

He spun on his wheels and headed out of the safe house and into the night.

…..

The Cooper gang had broken into INTERPOL headquarters many times. The first time had been when they stole the Fiendish Five file from Carmelita. Since then, they had broken in on multiple other occasions, mostly so Sly could leave little gifts or souvenirs, usually something he’d just stolen, for Carmelita. This, however, was the first time Bentley was breaking in on his own.

While Sly and Sandra had been out reminiscing and doing reconnaissance, he had attempted to access the INTERPOL CCU system, but had been unable to get a strong enough connection.

He arrived in front of the INTERPOL building, staring up at it. He activated his binoc-u-cam, focusing on the building.

“Sandra.” He whispered.

The corner of the screen fizzled until Sandra’s face appeared.

“Talk to me.”

“I need to get to the INTERPOL CCU. Where would it be located?”

“Where else?” she asked. “On the roof, where it’s protected by two guards who are always patrolling.”

“Of course…” he groaned. “How do I get up there?”

“See the building next door?” Sandra asked. “That’s a really good French restaurant with a rooftop dining area. Just get a table up there and I think your big brain can figure out a way to hack the CCU from there.”

Bentley gave a nod.

“Anything else?”

“Yeah. Order the Ratatouille. It’s amazing. Just tell them to put it on Sasha Carver’s tab.”

Bentley smiled at that, then stowed the binoc-u-cam, rolling towards the restaurant.

…..

It took a minute, but soon, Bentley was on the rooftop of _Le Restaurante Royal_ with a steaming plate of Ratatouille and a laptop in front of him. Looking across the balcony over at INTERPOL, Bentley began going the math in his head. After a bit of extra examining, and a few more bites of Ratatouille, the turtle pulled out his grapple cam.

“Let’s do this.”

With a deft toss, he sent the grapple cam over the edge of the balcony, where it immediately shot out a grapple. It hooked onto the CCU and reeled itself up onto the roof. It embedded itself into the CCU, and a small antenna popped out. Immediately, a small flashing box appeared on Bentley’s screen with the words CONNECTION ESTABLISHED in big red letters.

Bentley smiled, then cracked his knuckles before typing away at his computer. Almost immediately the firewalls began to fight back. It was a bit more challenging than usual, but nothing that Bentley’s skills couldn’t take down.

“110 years and INTERPOL still hasn’t done anything to beef up their security.”

After a few bypassed firewalls and a couple reroutes, he was successfully in.

“Alright. Congratulations Carmelita, you are now an INTERPOL Inspector, alongside your partner, Constable Carver.”

Sandra’s voice came over the comm.

“Carver… That’s my alias.”

“Well, we can’t exactly have him going by Cooper, now can we?” Bentley replied. “Besides, he’s your Great-Great-Grandfather. I think you can share with the old man.”

“HEY!” Sly’s voice rang out.

Bentley laughed as he closed he laptop and finished off the Ratatouille. The waiter came over and gave a warm smile.

“How was everything?” he asked.

Bentley smiled back.

“Everything was great. Put the bill on Sasha Carver’s tab.”

The waiter seemed to smile even wider at that.

“But of course.”

…..

Bentley returned to the hideout with a large bag of food, which he divided up amongst the group. They all ate with gusto.

“Thanks for the food Bentley.” Carmelita replied as she ate.

“The Chef insisted I bring some food home with me after I said I was friends with Sasha Carver.”

“Yeah.” Sandra replied. “I helped the guy establish the restaurant, and I do pay my tabs on time. That’s why he keeps that table on the roof reserved for me.”

“Nice one.” Sly said with a smile. “You’re definitely my descendant.

Finishing off her food, Sandra stood up, going towards the window.

“I’ll get the uniforms. You guys enjoy the meal.”

She leapt from the window as everyone watched.

“Does that girl ever stop moving?” Carmelita asked.

“I haven’t seen her sleep yet.” Bentley replied.

“At least she eats.” Murray interjected. “Remember when we went up against the Fiendish Five? Sly barely relaxed the entire mission.”

“Cut her some slack.” Sly told them. “She’s worried about her friends, and if she really is my descendant, she’ll relax once her friends are safely by her side.”

Everyone let that sink in, remembering how they had changed during Sly’s absence. They had been able to rely on each other for support, but Sandra had been alone for who knows how long in the time stream. More than that, Bentley had firsthand experience on being alone while his friends were in trouble.

“Your right Sly.” Bentley replied. “Let’s just let her do her thing.”

Everyone nodded, then turned back to their food.

…..

Sandra slipped across the rooftops with a determined look in her eye. She could see the laundromat that was owned by the police off in the distance and she closed in fast. She could also see the hospital off in the distance. Pausing for a minute as she perched on a lamp post, she gazed over that hospital as her expression hardened.

“Don’t worry guys…” she whispered. “I’m coming for you.”

She tightened her grip on her cane, then leapt from the lamp post onto the adjoining rooftop. A few more rooftop jumps and she was above the laundromat.

“I’m here Bentley.”

“That’s great… unfortunately, we’ve hit a bit of a snag.”

Sandra raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“The only way into the laundromat is through the front door. The back door is only accessible from the inside, and even if I hacked the system, I wouldn’t be able to open it.”

“No problem.” Sandra replied. “I’ve got a way.”

Sandra slipped off the roof and into the alleyway. There was a small window into the laundromat, but it was much too small to slip through. That didn’t seem to be Sandra’s way in though, as she simply spun her cane until it was upside down. She then hit the circle button, shooting the end of the cane into the stone. It then retracted itself, making a fairly sturdy hook hanging right by the window. Much to Bentley’s surprise, Sandra then hung her satchel on the makeshift hook, then placed her hat, and even her mask into the bag.

“Umm…. What are you doing?”

Sandra then pulled her hair out of its ponytail, and it immediately went flying in every direction with a comical springing noise.

“Just trust me Bentley.” She insisted.

She unzipped her hoodie as well, revealing a simple white tank top underneath, and hung it on the hook. She then searched her pockets and happily noted they were empty.

“There we go. Normal red panda.”

“Normal what?” Bentley asked.

Sandra smirked.

“When I’m not wearing my mask, I look more like a red panda than I do a raccoon. I’ve used it to my advantage before, and I’m going to do it again.”

“I fail to see how this will work.” Bentley replied skeptically.

A long, low horn from off in the distance drew Sandra’s attention.

“That’s my cue.”

Sandra bolted out of the alley, coming to a stop out in front of it. She looked to the right to see a large semi-truck coming down the street, as well as a large mud puddle right in its path. She counted to three, then walked out beside the puddle, just as the truck came whizzing by. The mud was sent shooting through the air, where it struck Sandra, coating her in the thick mud.

“Sandra!” Bentley shouted.

Sandra wiped the mud from her eyes, then from her muzzle.

“And 3…. 2…. 1….”

Behind her, the laundromat door opened with an audible slam and a pair of laundromat attendants came forward.

“Miss, are you alright?”

Sandra turned towards the two, shaking the mud from her paws and wiping more away from her face.

“ _Oui._ ” She replied. “Just a little embarrassed…”

The two attendants ushered her inside, much to Bentley’s amazement.

“How did you know that work?” he asked.

Sandra didn’t answer. Instead, she followed the two attendants to the back of the laundromat, where they showed her a small washroom. It had a small shower, most likely for people like herself who showed up filthy.

“You go and get yourself cleaned up.” One of them said as they handed her a towel and what looked like a spare shirt and a pair of pants. “We’ll get your clothes cleaned up.”

“ _Merci_.” Sandra told them, slipping into the bathroom.

The two attendants took her clothes as Sandra quickly closed the door and turned on a shower. Slipping the earpieces out of her ears, she climbed in and quickly scrubbed the mud from her hair and fur. It took a good ten minutes, but soon, she was perfectly clean and mud free.

“There we go. Now back to the mission at hand.”

She put on the clothes the attendants had provided for her, then slipped the earpieces back on.

“Okay.” Bentley called out. “I have to know… how did you know that would work.”

“Because I had that happen to me once already. However, that time really was on accident and they helped me out.” Sandra explained. “There’s still some good in the world.”

Sandra then turned her attention to the racks of uniforms and clothing hanging around. She looked at each one, examining the sizes before smiling.

“Here we are. One that will fit Carmelita perfectly.”

“Are you sure?” Carmelita asked over the comm.

“Positive. I know your size quite well.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. There’s a very detailed entry about you in Sly’s section of the Thievius Raccoonus. It’s got everything from your favorite books, music, and artworks down to your physical measurements.”

The line went silent for a minute, then there was the sound of a struggle, most likely Carmelita attempting to attack Sly. Sandra ignored it, and grabbed a uniform for Sly. She even snagged two sets of protective eyewear from a small stand. Sandra then made her way over to the window, where she stood on a small table to reach it. She pushed the uniforms through the window and into her satchel bag.

“There we go.” Sandra whispered. “I’ve got the uniforms, not to mention a free shower and my clothes laundered as well.”

On the other end of the comm, she could hear Murray holding Carmelita back while Sly seemed to be nursing a bloody nose.

“I never gave you permission to write about me in your little book, Ring-tail!”

“Carmelita, I thought you’d be flattered. You’re the only person aside from Bentley to have an entry in the Thievius Raccoonus without the name Cooper.”

“Not when you’re writing things like my dress size!”

“Guys, please try to get along.” Sandra insisted. “You two are going to be partners after all.”

Carmelita gave a begrudging groan, then Bentley came on the line.

“Thanks Sandra.” He told her. “Now get your clothes back and get back here.”

As if on cue, the attendant returned with Sandra’s clothes folded neatly.

“Here you go, Miss.” They said as she took the clothes. “So sorry that happened.”

“Not a problem.” She said, examining her clothes with a happy smile. “I’m glad to see that there’s still some good people in Paris.”

 The attendants smiled, then left. Sandra got dressed and went out into the alley, where she grabbed her hoodie, cap and mask. Now looking like a proper Cooper once more. She grabbed her satchel, then pulled her cane free of the roof, disappearing into the shadowy alley.

…..

Carmelita held up the police uniform, examining it skeptically. It was a double hued grey suit that seemed to be made out of a combination of Kevlar pads and tough fabric. However, despite being incredibly durable, it also felt amazingly soft and comfortable under her paws.

“What is this?” she asked.

“Oh. That’s the police ‘battle suit’ as they’ve been dubbed by the public.” Sandra explained.

Sly, who was already pulling the suit on, raised an eyebrow.

“Battle suit?”

“Yeah.” Sandra replied. “Standard issue uniform for officers of the law who are entering high risk situations. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that if you guys were behind the wheel of the van transporting my friends, you’ll be required to wear the uniform.”

Carmelita sighed, then put the uniform on. Once it was on, she looked in the mirror and was surprised to find it looked really good on her. She found herself doing some poses in the mirror, until a whistle drew her attention.

“Looking good, partner.” Sly said, leaning against the wall in his uniform.

Carmelita glanced back at him, a witty retort on the tip of her tongue, but those words immediately died when she laid eyes on Sly. If she looked good, he looked great. A lifetime of thievery had given the raccoon a very athletic physique that the suit seemed to highlight. Sly gave her a smirk as he approached.

“Cat got your tongue, Carmelita?”

“More like a ringtail.” Sandra replied.

Carmelita’s fur turned redder as she turned away from Sly. Sandra then walked over.

“You’ll have to take your mask off, Sly.” She told him. “You’re a police officer, not a thief.”

Sly conked himself on the head, then slipped his mask off.

“Sorry.” He said. “I guess even with 8 years of not wearing it, the mask is still a part of me.”

Sandra took the mask from him, then handed both Sly and Carmelita a pair of orange glasses.

“I know it’s not a mask, but maybe this will help.”

The two took the glasses, slipping them on.

“Protective eyewear I’m assuming.” Carmelita commented.

“That’s right. They’re bullet proof, not to mention they can switch to sunglasses mode depending on the level of light around.”

Sly adjusted the glasses, then turned to Carmelita. He took her badge off of her original belt, attaching it to the space on her right pectoral designed to display it. He then took his old badge, attaching it to his before turning back to Carmelita.

“Well, now that we’re properly suited up, we should probably get to work.”

Carmelita nodded, slipping her pistol into a holster on the suit’s belt.

“Right.” She said. “Bentley, do you have that poison for the guards?”

Bentley nodded and a mechanical arm held out a vial of green liquid.

“This should do the trick.” Bentley explained. “Just pour a few drops of this into the officer’s food and you’ll have those cops hunched over a trashcan in no time.”

Sly went to grab it, but Carmelita beat him to it.

“Oh no you don’t, ringtail.” She chastised him. “I’m done being your group’s go-to distraction. I’ll slip this into the food while you keep the officers busy.”

Sly help up his hands, that cheeky smile on his face.

“As you wish.” He told her.

Carmelita walked out of the hideout with Sly right on her tail.

“We’ll make a proper criminal out of you yet.”

The rest of the gang heard a loud smacking noise, followed by a yelp of pain from Sly.

“Saw that coming.” Sandra commented.

Murray and Bentley both nodded.

…..

Despite having served 8 years as an INTERPOL Constable, Sly could never get use to walking through the front doors of the headquarters without a pair of steel bracelets around his wrists. It almost gave him a bit of a thrill as the cops walked past him, completely unaware of who he really was. Carmelita glanced over and shook her head at the childish grin on his face.

“Will you be serious, ring-tail?” she chastised him.

“I’m always serious Carmelita.” Sly replied.

“Then drop the dopey grin. You’re a Constable, not a clown.”

“Sir Galleth was both a knight and an actor, so why can’t I be a Constable and clown?”

Carmelita got a similar childish grin.

“Because we don’t want a repeat of that sting operation we pulled in Berlin, now do we?”

Sly’s grin faded as a blush came to his cheeks.

“I thought we agreed not to talk about that again.”

Carmelita just playfully nudged him as they made their way into the mess hall. All around there were dozens of officers milling about. Some were in plain clothes, others in uniforms identical to the ones Sly and Carmelita were wearing. They looked about, searching for their targets.

“Okay Bentley, we’re in.” Sly whispered. “Who are the officers in change of the transport van?”

“Just give me a sec.” Bentley replied.

There was the sound of typing, then Bentley spoke up again.

“Their names are Patterson and Carpenter.”

Carmelita immediately picked them out in the crowd.

“There they are.” She said. “Looks like they just got their food.”

“I’ll go stop them.” Sly told her. “Be right back”

He walked forward, placing his fingers up against his ear like he was talking to someone and not paying attention. He then ran straight into both Patterson and Carpenter, sending their trays of food crashing to the ground.

“Oh jeez… I am so sorry.” Sly hastily apologized. “I didn’t see you there.”

Both of the cops glared at Sly, then down at their trays

“Great… and its sloppy joe day.” Patterson groaned.

“Way to go, buddy.” Carpenter snarled.

Carmelita came forward, giving Sly a (fake) chastising frown.

“I thought I told you to stay off your comm when in crowded areas.” She told him.

“Sorry, Inspector.” He replied.

“I’ll go and get these gentlemen a new tray. You stay here where you can’t cause any more damage.”

Carmelita walked off and Sly turned towards the officers.

“Sorry again.”

“Whatever.” Carpenter replied. “It’s partially our fault anyway.”

The three went to sit down as Patterson explained.

“Head Inspector Garrett has been riding everyone’s tails for weeks now, ever since we captured the New Cooper Gang.” He said.

“Yeah... He’s been pulling officers off the streets to have then search for Sandra Cooper.” Carpenter added. “He’s even been calling in extra hands from our different branches.”

Sly whistled.

“Talk about overkill.”

“Exactly!” Patterson exclaimed. “The guy is obsessed! I mean, seriously. Why go through so much effort to find a criminal who is most likely dead or gone for good?”

“No serious cop would ever dedicate THAT much time and effort to finding one measly thief.”

Over the comm, Sly could hear Carmelita hiss slightly. Carpenter’s comment had practically insulted the last three years of her career. Sly, however, was angry for another reason. This guy had insulted his family by calling Sandra a ‘measly thief’.

“From what I’ve heard, Sandra Cooper’s a pretty difficult thief to catch.” Sly replied. “Maybe she’s planning a rescue attempt on her friends.”

“Jeez, you sound like Garrett.” Patterson retorted. “Look, when we found the New Cooper Gang, they were in rough shape, like they’d been ‘interrogated’ or something. Odds are whomever attacked the gang snatched Cooper and bolted.”

Sly had to bite his tongue to keep himself from telling the truth. Luckily, his brain quickly supplied him with something else to say instead.

“If that’s true, then maybe Garrett’s trying to find her alive.” He suggested.

Carpenter just sighed, leaning back in his chair.

“If you ask me, I say let them kill her.”

There was a collective gasp across the comm, from Murray, Bentley, and Carmelita. Sandra, however, just remained quiet. Sly took a second to regain his composure before speaking again.

“What was that?” he practically demanded, anger laced in his words. “Because I thought you just said, ‘let them kill her’…”

Carpenter shrugged.

“It’s true.” He replied. “They taker her out, and we’ve got one less lowlife criminal scum out on the streets.”

Sly’s knuckles cracked audibly as he clenched his fists. However, neither of his ‘companions’ seemed to notice.

“Frankly I think we should just let them all take each other out.” Patterson added. “Would definitely save money on prisons and stuff like that.”

Sly could not believe this! The last time he had dealt with dirty cops, it had been when Neyla had betrayed him and locked him and Murray up in a private prison/hell hole to be tortured by an even dirtier cop named The Contessa. He still had nightmares about that place, but this was beyond worse!

Sly’s vision was nearly red as she snarled his next question.

“And what about those innocent people caught in the crossfire?”

Both cops shrugged indifferently, a gesture succeeding in infuriating the raccoon even more.

“Necessary sacrifices for the greater good.” Carpenter replied.

“You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, am I right?” Patterson asked.

Sly was just about to punch one of these guys in the face when two trays with sloppy joes laden on them came crashing down in front of the two cops. They looked up to see Carmelita, whose face reminded Sly of when she had caught him stealing the feudal Japanese dagger from Le Paradox’s museum.

“Sorry.” She hissed angrily. “I slipped slightly.”

She turned to Sly, taking his arm and pulling him to his feet.

“Come on.” She told him. “We’ve got to report to Head Inspector Garrett. We’ve wasted enough time here as is.”

Sly looked at Carmelita gratefully, then let her lead him out of the mess hall. They walked out of the mess hall, then out the side door towards the smoking area. Once it was clear there was nobody around, the entire group practically exploded

“Did you hear what those _los cabrónes_ said?!” Carmelita exclaimed.

“Let them kill her?!” Sly shouted.

“Necessary sacrifices?!” Bentley screamed.

“Can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs?!” Murray cried.

For a good minute, all four of them just ranted, exclaiming multiple expletives in both English and Spanish. That is, until they noticed that Sandra hadn’t said a word. They all quieted down, then Sandra started to speak.

“There are three types of police officers in this day and age. There are officers like You Carmelita, or like Garrett. Ones who fight for justice. Then there are dirty cops, ones who do side dealings with criminals and other ilk…… And then there are cops like those two, who don’t care about anyone but themselves….”

She was silent for a moment, then spoke up again.

“Unfortunately, its cops like Patterson and Carpenter that make up most of law enforcement these days.”

“That’s _loco!_ ” Carmelita cried. “What happened in 110 years that made the justice system so… so…?”

“Broken?” Sandra asked. “Garrett asked me the same thing when we first met.”

“He asked you?” Sly asked.

“Yeah…” she replied. “It was just after I stole the Star of Kilimanjaro. He’d managed to track me down and cornered me on this cliff overlooking a river. I lost my footing and fell in... Any other cop would have let me drown… but he dived in after me and saved me.”

“He did?” Carmelita asked.

“Yep. I woke up soaking wet, handcuffed, and on the edge of the river with Garrett ringing out his shirt. I asked him why he saved me, and you know what he said? He said ‘Nobody deserves to die like that… not even criminals.’ I’m guessing my expression displayed my shock because he then asked me why it’s gotten to the point that people expect cops to leave criminals to die rather than save them. He wanted to change that… starting with me.”

Everyone soaked in these words, their hatred slightly abetting.

“I of course escaped after I finally coughed up the last of the water, but I left the Star behind. I figured I owed him that much at least.”

Carmelita smiled slightly, then a thought struck her.

“Sandra, this may sound like a strange question, but does Garrett eat sloppy joes?”

“…..No… He says the mess hall always uses too much beans and not enough meat…. Why?”

Carmelita looked down at her hand, opening it to reveal an empty vial of poison.

“Because I may have poured the rest of the poison into the community pot after hearing what those _idiotas_ said.”

Sly’s dopey grin came back in spades as everyone busted into laughter.

“Oh this is gonna be good.” Sly chuckled.

…..

Carmelita and Sly sat on a bench in front of Garrett’s office, watching as about half the precinct was either hunched over a trashcan or shoving people out of the way to go to the bathroom. Part of Carmelita’s brain was mentally chastising her for her reckless behavior, but a more dominant part was congratulating her on taking such a bold step. Maybe Sly really was rubbing off on her.

There was a ding of an elevator and none other than Head Inspector Garrett Lupine. He looked around the place, a pissed off expression on his face.

“What in the name of all things sacred happened here?!” he demanded.

One cop who was holding a small trashcan to his chest looked up.

“Bad sloppy… Urp …. Joes…. Ugh….”

The cop immediately put his face back in the trashcan as Garrett stalked past him.

“Jodie, how many men are down for the count?”

Jodie, a rabbit at the secretary’s desk, put on a pair of glasses and brought up the list on her terminal.

“So far about a third of the officers are reporting symptoms of food poisoning.” She replied.

Garrett came closer, pinching between his eyes.

“Just tell me that Patterson and Carpenter aren’t amongst the sick.”

“Sorry sir. They seem to be suffering the worst of it all.”

Garrett slammed his fist down on the desk angrily.

“DAMNIT!”

Jodie didn’t seem phased. Instead, she simply took of her glasses and spoke again.

“Also, two transfers from the English branch are here to see you.”

Garrett’s head shot up and he turned on his heals to face Carmelita and Sly. He examined them up and down, then raised an eyebrow.

“You two… you’re not throwing up.”

“No sir.” Carmelita replied. “My partner got into a verbal altercation with one of your officers in the mess hall and we took our leave before the incident could escalate.”

Garrett sighed in immense relief.

“Thank heavens.” He said. “I know you just started, but I need you to cover Patterson and Carpenter’s duties tomorrow.”

“Anything you need, sir.” Sly replied.

“Be at _Le Hospitalier centrale de Paris_ before 20:00 tomorrow. Do NOT be late.”

Both Sly and Carmelita gave a salute as Garrett walked towards his office. He opened the door, then paused turning back to them.

“And, umm, stay out of the mess hall for now.”

The two of them smirked as Garrett disappeared into his office. Behind their backs, the two ‘officers’ shared a secret fist bump. Everything was going perfectly.


	7. Operation: Triple Threat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally time for the New Cooper Gang to be reunited. Everything's in place and everyone knows the plan. With fingers crossed and tails twitching, the Cooper Gang, Sandra, and Carmelita begin Operation: Triple Threat

Morning couldn’t come fast enough for Sandra, and neither could the afternoon or evening. She paced around the hideout, her hands trembling with a nervous energy. Sly knew exactly what was going on in her mind. She was imagining everything that could go wrong, something Bentley use to do back before he became a field operative. Shaking his head with a smile, he stood up, catching the red raccoon by her shoulder. Sandra jumped about 3 feet in the air, proving Sly’s theory.

“It’s gonna be alright Sandra.” He told her. “Bentley’s plans always come through.”

“I know… it’s just… what if Garrett put some sort of protection around the RV to keep us out? What if the cops come around from their food poisoning? What if-”

Sly gently grabbed her chin, making her look up.

“Sandra.” He interjected. “Calm down and listen to me.”

Sandra stopped talking, but her eyes were still brimming with worry.

“Everything is going to be okay. Say it.”

“Everything…. Is going… to be okay….” Sandra repeated.

“Exactly, and you know why?” he asked.

Sandra shook her head.

“Because we’re Coopers, and we always pull through, no matter what. Got it?”

Sandra took a deep breath, then nodded, some of the fear and nervousness fading from her eyes.

“Got it.” She replied.

With Sandra successfully calmed down, Bentley called their final mission meeting.

“Alright guys, it’s almost time for Operation: Triple Threat.” He announced. “We just need to go over the game plan.”

Everyone gathered around the table as Bentley brought up his collected footage and his holographic yellow pen.

“For this plan to work, we’re going to have to time everything just so.” He explained. “First, Sly and Carmelita will report to Inspector Garrett, taking control of the prison transport. I’ve double checked, and it’s an automatic, so you two shouldn’t have any problems controlling it.”

“That’s a relief.” Carmelita commented.

Bentley switched the footage to the Impound Lot, turning towards Murray.

“After Carmelita and Sly are in position, it will be up to you big guy. You’ll need to bust into the impound lot, taking out anything and everything.”

“Fear not! ‘The Murray’ will draw in those cops like mice into a mouse trap!”

“Good. If Garrett’s anything like you Carmelita, once he realizes the RV is the target, he’ll send as many men as he can afford to spare to try and stop Murray.”

“And thanks to your ploy with the poison, his numbers are already pretty low.” Sandra remarked.

Carmelita smirked as Bentley continued.

“I’m sure after Murray hits the impound lot, he’ll be eager to get Marcus and Benjy safely behind bars. We’ll need to draw him away from the convoy, and that’s where you come in Sandra.”

“No need to go into detail. I’ve got a way to get him running my way.”

“If you say you do, than you do.” Bentley replied “Moving on. After Garrett leaves and both Marcus and Benjy are loaded into the prison transport, you’ll need to hightail it out of there. It may take some tricky maneuvering, but you’ll have to get rid of any cops that may try to follow you.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem.” Sly replied. “If I can get Carmelita off my tail, we shouldn’t have any trouble with a couple of normal cops.”

“Once you’re in the clear, get back here to the base. Here, you’ll ditch the transport and get the van. Since Marcus can drive stick, he’ll have to drive, if that’s okay with you Murray.”

“Since I’m driving his RV, it’s only fair.” Murray replied.

“Oh yeah. Murray. You’ll have to collect Sandra from police headquarters. Once we’re all safely in our prospective vehicles, we get the heck out of Paris.”

“I know the best spot to meet back up.” Sandra interjected. “Just tell Marcus to meet us at our usual dumping grounds and he’ll know where to go.”

He shut off the presentation, then everyone stuck there hands out.

“We’ve only got one shot at this, so let’s make it count.” Bentley finished.

“Right.” Everyone else said in unison.

They all broke up and scattered, each headed for their pre-determined destinations.

…..

Carmelita and Sly, both in full police regalia, arrived at the hospital around 7:30.                 When Garrett saw them, he seemed both relieved and pleased at the same time.

“Fox, Carver, glad you got here so quickly.”

“Considering whom we’re transporting, it seemed like a good idea to get here early, just in case sir.” Carmelita replied.

Garrett gave a nod, then led them towards the large prison transport. The large back doors were open, but nobody was inside, yet.

“The hospital won’t allow me to check Benjamin and Marcus out until 8pm sharp, but I want this convoy prepped and ready to leave so I can have them in the back of this van and on the way to the penitentiary by 8:01.”

Sly had to fight back a snicker, remembering how Bentley had predicted that exact scenario. Luckily, he managed to keep a straight face as he and Carmelita climbed into the prison transport. Carmelita got behind the wheel while Sly took shotgun. Once they were inside, Sly hailed Murray on the comm.

“We’re in position, Murray.” Sly whispered. “You’re up.”

…..

Across town, Murray stood on a rooftop in front of the Impound lot. Below him, he could see a few cops and guards milling about. He watched them make their rounds as Sly gave him the heads up.

“You got it Sly.” He replied.

He took a few steps back, then ran forward, belly flopping off the roof.

“THUNDER FLOP!!”

His loud cry caused all of the cops to look up, just as the hippo came crashing down on top of them. The shockwave sent them all flying backwards into the fence. They quickly recovered and went to attack Murray. One of the cops aimed his weapon, only to have Murray snatch it from his hands and crush it like an empty soda can.

“That won’t work on ‘The Murray’!” he proudly proclaimed.

He took a swing at the cop, his fist knocking the guy into the fence so hard he left a dent. Another came to aid his buddy, letting off a shot with his shock pistol. The shock caught Murray off guard, but he quickly recovered. Once again, Murray snatched his weapon and crushed.

“That wasn’t very nice!”

This guy he picked up, throwing him into the same fence as the first guy. It buckled more under the strain as two more cops came forward. Murray didn’t even give these guys time to raise their weapons. Punched them both simultaneously, knocking out a few teeth and sending them skidding across the sidewalk. He then picked hem both up and tossed them at that same piece of fence. This time, the fence finally gave way.

“OH YEAH!!” Murray shouted. “No puny fence is a match for ‘The Murray’!!”

He jogged through the hole in the fence and over to the large RV. He gave a whistle at the sight of it.

“Wow… This thing is amazing! I better take good care of it.”

He examined the large parking boot attached to the front wheel, then stomped down hard on lock. It was smashed into tiny little metal bits, allowing Murray to pull the boot off and toss it away. He went to open the door, only to find it locked.

“Uh-oh… I forgot about keys.”

Sandra’s voice came onto the comm.

“Lucky for you, Marcus let Benjy as some modern conveniences to the van, included a pin number lock system on the doors. There’s a hatch right next to the door.”

Murray found the hatched and opened it, revealing a basic 1-9 keypad.

“The code is 7225.” Sandra supplied.

Murray imputed the code and there was an audible click. He tried the door again and was happy to find it now unlocked.

“Marcus keeps the keys hidden in the glove box. Same code opens it.”

Putting in the code once more in the keypad on the glovebox, Murray took the keys, gunned the engine, and zoomed out of the impound lot.

…..

Inside the hospital, Garrett was seated in the waiting room, filling out the necessary paperwork for Benjy and Marcus’ release. As he worked, his phone went off. He looked down to see that it was his secretary Jodie. Sighing irritably, he answered it.

“This better be important, or I swear you’re gonna wish you were out with food poisoning like the other half of the precinct Jodie.”

Jodie didn’t seem fazed by the threat and just calmly spoke.

“It is important, sir.” She replied. “I’ve received a report that there’s been an attack on the impound lot.”

That gave Garrett pause.

“An attack?”

“Yes sir. The men report that a ‘pink hippo in a wrestling mask’ proclaiming himself to be ‘The Murray’ broke in, assaulted four officers, then made off with the New Cooper Gang’s RV.”

That made Garrett shoot out of his chair, the paperwork scattering across the floor.

“WHAT?!”

“I’m already sending what squad cars we can spare, but with almost everyone either sick with food poisoning or with you on the transport job, there isn’t really anyone I can send.”

Garrett gave a snarl, then ended the call. He stalked outside, and addressed his men.

“There’s been a situation.” He told them. “While I would appreciate keeping all of you here on this job, this situation must be dealt with.”

He pointed out half of the men, separating them from the rest.

“You will stay here as planned. The rest of you are to head down to the Impound lot to deal with a hot-rodder who’s attempting to steal the New Cooper Gang’s RV.”

The men saluted, then went to do their duties. Inside the transport van, Sly and Carmelita watched as half the men left the convoy.

“Good job Murray.” Sly whispered. “Garrett’s sending half his men to stop you.”

“I’ll give them a car chase they’ll never forget!” Murray exclaimed.

Back inside the hospital, Garrett gathered up the scattered pieces of paperwork, resuming his writing. He found himself working at a bit of a faster pace, eager to get Benjy and Marcus out of the hospital and incarcerated. While the description Jodie had given of the RV hijacker hadn’t matched any of Sandra’s known associates or the attackers who had assaulted the gang, his instincts were telling him something was up, and after years on the force, he’d come to trust his instincts above all else.

He finished the last of the paperwork, handing it over to the nurse. She skimmed the papers, then gave a nod.

“I’ll have them brought out immediately.”

She disappeared around the corner to collect Benjy and Marcus as Garrett stepped back outside. He ushered for four officers to follow him inside, and that’s when Carmelita spoke.

“Looks like the paperwork’s been filed and your friends are on their way out.” She whispered. “You ready to draw his attention?”

Sandra voice came on the comm.

“Just be ready to gun it.”

Her end of the comm went dead as Sly and Carmelita watched. The eight cops went inside and Garrett went to follow them, only to have his phone go off again. He snarled, this time not even bothering to look at the caller ID.

“Unless somebody is dying or you’ve caught the RV hijacker, I suggest you hang up now before I arrest you for interfering in police business.”

There was a chuckle on the other end, then Sandra’s voice came over the line.

“Well then, you might as well add that to the large list of crimes I’ve committed.”

Garrett froze, his eyes as large as dinner plates. His voice lost all the anger from before, replaced with a combination of disbelief and fear.

“S-Sandra?” he whispered.

“That’s my name.” she replied. “Don’t wear it out.”

Garrett’s entire frame seemed to sag in relief, a gesture Carmelita recognized all too well. She had been the same way when Sandra had told her Sly was alive. Garrett then straightened up, putting his serious face on.

“Where are you?” he demanded. “What happened to you? Where have you been?”

He rattled off a few more questions before Sandra finally managed to get a word in.

“I’m in your office.” She said, her originally cheerful voice taking on a more somber tone. “I want to talk…. No cane, no shock pistol….just you and me…. Please?”

Garrett looked over at the transport, then through the window at the officers leading Benjamin and Marcus out of the hospital. He wanted to follow the convoy to make sure everything went smoothly, but a stronger part of him wanted him to get back to his office quickly to make sure Sandra was okay. Not only that, but this could be his one chance to catch Sandra and arrest her.

Before he knew t, his mind was made up.

“I’m on my way. Don’t go anywhere.”

“Cross my heart, Garrett.”

That was something she always told him when she promised to do something. She always kept a promise she crossed her heart on. He ended the call, then went over to the transport.

“Something’s come up.” He said, addressing Carmelita and Sly. “I’ve got to do deal with an urgent matter. Make sure everything goes according to plan.”

“Yes sir.” They both replied.

Garrett then ran towards his car, gunning the engine and screeching down the street. Sly and Carmelita watched him go, whistling.

“Is that how you act when you hear my name?” Sly asked.

Carmelita gave a small shrug and Sly smiled.

“It is isn’t it?”

“Don’t get a big head, Cooper. It doesn’t suit you.”

Sly went to rib Carmelita some more, but the doors to the hospital slid open and they both stopped talking. Through the window of the van, they could see the four cops leading two figures out of the hospital.

The first was a short koala with dark purple fur. He reminded Sly of the Guru, if the Guru was a skinny teenager with his hair pulled back in a ponytail. He had a few bandages on his fingers and on his left shoulder, as well as a freshly healed scar across his forehead, but aside from that, he looked pretty good.

“That’s got to be Benjy.” Sly muttered.

“No doubt about that.” Carmelita replied. “I guess that makes this next guy Marcus.”

The next figure was huge, easily a foot taller than Murray. His build reminded the two of ‘Bob’ Cooper the caveman after Murray’s training. He was muscular in all the right places with claws and teeth that looked like he could tear through metal. However, he had this beaten look in his eye, reminiscing of how Murray looked after Bentley got hurt. He had a scar across his right cheek that looked fairly new and a few bandages on his right arm.

“Sandra wasn’t kidding when she said Marcus was a tank with claws.” Sly whispered.

“Makes you wonder who attacked them, and how they were strong enough to do that much damage.” Carmelita whispered back.

Benjy and Marcus were loaded into the back of the van as Carmelita engaged the engine. Sly instinctively buckled his seatbelt, bracing himself, his goofy grin returning. The second the back doors slammed shut, Carmelita floored the gas pedal, taking off down the street.

…..

Garrett arrived back at INTERPOL headquarters, marching straight up to his office. A few desk jockeys tried to get his attention, but he ignored all of them, his focus set on the door to his office. He got to the door, his hand inches from the knob, and then found himself frozen once more.

He was slightly afraid to open the door, afraid to see the state that Sandra was in, or that this was all a cruel joke and she wasn’t there at all. Still he needed to know, and he knew if he walked away, he’d regret it. Steeling himself, he turned the knob and slipped into his office.

Sandra was sitting by the open window, the night wind blowing through her hair. She was leaning against her cane, swinging her legs idly. She looked like she was in perfect health, albeit, a bit tired. She looked up at Garrett and waved.

“Hi Garrett.” She said softly.

Garrett closed the door behind him, his eyes never leaving Sandra. He tried to search for any injuries, any hidden bandages, but he couldn’t find any.

“Sandra…. You’re-”

“Unhurt?” she replied. “Yeah… Floating around in the time stream for a month and a half apparently sped up the healing process.”

Garrett attempted to process what he had just heard but found it impossible. He leaned against his desk, pinching the area between his eyes. He looked up again as a barrage of questions came to mind. It took him a second to prioritize his questions, but he soon succeeded.

“Sandra, what happened?” he asked. “Where have you been these past two months?”

Sandra shrugged.

“2016…. Then 1350 B.C.” she replied. “I was time traveling.”

Garrett snorted, despite the seriousness of the situation. However, his eyes widened as Sandra pulled a golden pocket watch out from under her hoodie.

“This is the time machine.” She explained. “Benjy made it. He slipped it around my neck and activated it before the attackers could get to me.”

Garrett raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“Time travel…. Seriously?”

“You’ve read the old files on my family. Surely you’ve read about the Le Paradox incident.”

Garrett nodded.

“I thought it was all nonsense…. But…. It explains why there’s been no sign of you for two months.”

“Trust me, I didn’t want to be gone that long, but I didn’t have a choice…..”

Sandra looked down, then back up.

“Garrett…. What happened to my friends after I left? How bad were they?”

Garrett looked up, an expression of worry on his face.

“Are you sure you want to know?” he asked.

Sandra nodded once. Garrett took a deep breath and explained.

…..

Sly and Carmelita were zooming down the streets of Paris, Carmelita’s foot never leaving the floor. Behind them, police cars were trying desperately to catch up. Sly stuck his head out the window, looking out at the cops before giving them a wave. He pulled himself back into the van, turning to Carmelita.

“So how does it feel?” He asked. “Your first police chase as the target rather than the tracker?”

Carmelita’s eyes were focused on the road, but Sly could see a hint of a smile on the fox’s face. She was enjoying herself. However, she quickly attempted to deny it.

“You forget when you helped me escape from Prague and Canada, so technically, this isn’t my first chase.”

“That doesn’t answer my question, Carmelita.” Sly retorted.

Carmelita just smirked, then yanked the wheel to the side, making a tight left turn.

“It feels…. Different.” She finally replied.

“Good different or bad different?”

“Sly….”

Sly raised his hands up in mock surrender, then his eyes widened.

“Barricade!”

There were no turns to take, and there were about 4 different police cars blocking the only route off the road.

“What now?” Carmelita asked.

At that moment, a small metal hatch that allowed a vantage point into the back of the van slid open.

“G’day missy.” A voice with a THICK Australian accent called out. “Maybe I cin help ya.”

“Benjy, I presume?” Carmelita asked.

“Aye.” He replied. “Ya see tha’ red button on te gear shift?”

Carmelita glanced down at it, giving a small nod.

“Give it a push and te bumper will go inna battering ram mode.”

Carmelita and Sly both grinned, then pressed the button hard. There was the whir of machinery and the bumper visibly jutted out. The cops in the barricade saw that and immediately abandoned the vehicles as the van sent them flying out of the way.

“Wooo-eee!” Benjy shouted. “Good job, Missy.”

“That’s Carmelita to you, Benjy.”

Benjy raised an eyebrow.

“Carmelita? As in….

He trailed off as he looked at his to rescuers. Recognition dawned and his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Bloody Oath…. Sandy did it!”

Benjy then turned towards the back of the van, one hand still clinging to that hatch.

“MARCUS!! SANDY DID IT!!”

“She did it?!” a deep voice that sounded like what a mountain’s voice might be like, Marcus obviously, exclaimed. “She really did it?! I knew she’d do it!”

“I told ya she’d come through. She always comes through.”

Benjy turned back to Carmelita and Sly, an eager expression on his face.

“Where is she?” he asked. “Is she alright?”

“She’s doing alright.” Sly replied. “Though she’s been worried sick about you two.”

“She’s currently keeping Inspector Garrett busy, but once Murray goes and picks her up, we’re all gonna meet at the rendezvous point.” Carmelita added.

Benjy was suddenly moved away from the hatch as Marcus came into view.

“What about the RV?” He asked. “We can’t leave it!”

“Don’t worry about it.” Sly assured him. “Murray’s got that covered.”

…..

Murray drove down the streets of Paris, the RV working for him better than even his own van. Behind him, he could see the cops trying to catch up, but after some random button pushing, he’d been happy to discover that the RV was equipped with an array of anti-car chase features.

“Eat oil slick!” he cried, slamming his fist down on the button.

The rear license plate lifted up and a hose began squirting oil all across the road. From the side view mirrors, Murray watched as the cop cars skidded and slid across the asphalt trying to regain traction.

“OH YEAH!!” he screamed, pumping his fist. “I’ve GOT to get Benjy to upgrade the van!”

“I’m sure he’d be more than willing to.” Sly replied over the comm.

“You think so?” Murray asked.

“Ask him yourself.” Carmelita suggested.

That’s when Benjy’s voice came onto the comm.

“Oi mate.” He greeted. “Ya liken te ride?”

“Oh yeah!” Murray replied eagerly. “This thing drives like a dream!”

“Glad ya approve. Howevah, we’re in a bit of a rush, so ya best be gitten Sandy from Garrett’s place.”

“I’d like to, but even with your mods, I’ve still got cops on my tail.”

“Ya mean ya haven’t found te noz yet?”

Murray’s grin got wider.

“This thing has noz! AWESOME!!”

Benjy chuckled at Murray’s excitement before continuing.

“Flip te top o’ te gearshift off, then, as Sandy says, punch it.”

Murray did as he was told and flipped the top, revealing a small red button. With no small amount of childish glee, he jammed the button down, sending the van into overdrive. The sheer G-force send Murray deep into the seat cushions, his lips rippling from the speed. In the mirrors, he saw the cop cars shrinking into the distance.

After a minute or two, the noz ran out and the RV returned to normal speeds. Murray shook his head, his entire face numb from the pressure. However, even with his lips buzzing, he couldn’t help the big, idiotic grin on his face.

“That…. Was… AWESOME!!”

Benjy laughed.

“When we meet up, I’ll see what I cin do fer yer van. Kinda curious te see how yer brains does business.”

Murray’s smile remained plastered on his face as he raced towards INTERPOL headquarters.

…..

Garrett remained leaned against his desk, watching Sandra closely. She hadn’t moved from the window sill, but she wasn’t making any motions to bolt. Figuring the best way to keep Sandra from leaving, Garrett told her what he knew.

“By the time my men and I got to that warehouse of yours, the attackers had cleared out. However, there was some pretty serious damage.” Garrett explained. “The place looked like it had been ransacked and your friends looked like they had gone through some pretty tough interrogation.”

Sandra winced at the word interrogation.

“I was afraid of that…” she muttered.

Garrett cocked his head. Sandra knew something.

“What were those guys after?” he asked. “Was this some sort of score they were trying to settle?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. All I know is they came in demanding the time machine and the Thievius Raccoonus…… and possibly my life.”

“Wait… these guys want you dead?”

Sandra shrugged, looking down at her cane.

“Yeah… they promised to let Benjy and Marcus live if they just turned their back on me. If I had to wager a guess, I’d say they have some sort of hatred for the Cooper family….. Only one villain hated my family that much, and he was destroyed over 120 years ago…..”

“You mean that Clockwerk monster?”

Sandra shuddered, nodding.

“My Great-Great Grandfather, Sly Cooper, destroyed him after centuries of that mechanical fiend terrorizing the Cooper family… but I guess whomever these guys are, they’ve risen to take his place.”

Garrett stood up.

“If that’s true, then you are in danger. Let me take you into custody. I can protect you and your friends.”

Sandra sighed.

“I wish I could believe that…”

Garrett shot up from his desk, both angry and hurt at the same time.

“Are you saying that you can’t trust my word?!”

Sandra immediately put her hands up, trying to calm the wolf down.

“No! Not at all! I know you’d do anything and everything in your power to protect us….”

Garrett raised an eyebrow.

“But?”

“But… My family has been fighting criminals like those guys for generations, and we’ve always had to face them on our own. The Fiendish Five, Clockwerk, Clock-la, Le Paradox… The police have tried to stop them, but they always managed to circumvent the law, and that was before the system was as broken as it is today.”

Garrett wanted to deny Sandra’s claims, but he had to admit she spoke the truth. The justice system was broken, a fact proven almost every day by dirty cops and crooked judges.

“I can’t let these guys run around free while my friends and I just sit in a cell, waiting for the day they come knocking down the door to kill us. We need to face them.”

“How do you plan to do that?” Garrett asked. “They wiped the floor with you and your gang on your own turf. What makes you think you stand a chance against them now?”

“Last time, they caught us off guard. We were unprepared and they took us down. This time, we’ll be ready for them.”

“Even so, you’d need an army to take them down.”

Sandra got a smirk, one Garrett recognized instantly. It was her ‘I have an ace up my sleeve that you don’t know about’ smirk.

“Not an army.” She replied. “Just another Cooper gang…. Or should I say, the Original Cooper gang.”

Garrett was completely confused, but then he began to put the pieces together.

“The food poisoning…. Two new officers…. Pink hippo…. Your time traveling…”

Sandra chuckled slightly, shaking her head.

“You’ve read the old files. I would have thought you would have recognized Carmelita’s name.”

Now everything made sense. He turned on Sandra, his eyes almost feral.

“This was a set-up! You were distracting me!”

Sandra nodded.

“Guilty as charged.” She replied.

Garrett drew she shock pistol, aiming it right at Sandra. She just sat there on the window sill as Garrett attempted to call his officers. However, his calls couldn’t get through.

“What’s going on?!”

“Oh, that would be Bentley. He’s been jamming the CCU signal ever since you stepped into the building. For a turtle 110 years out of his time, he’s adjusting quite well.”

Garrett howled in rage as Sandra heard the ever familiar sound of the New Cooper Gang RV pulling up on the outside of the parking lot.

“Well, that’s my ride.” Sandra announced. “Thanks for taking good care of my friends.”

She adjusted her cane and leaned out the window slightly. She then snapped her fingers and fished into her satchel, pulling out the file with the words “NEW COOPER GANG” written on it

“Oh, and thanks for this too. It will definitely come in handy.”

Garrett’s eyes widened and he instinctively turned towards his file cabinet. He had been so focused on Sandra he hadn’t noticed the draw was slightly ajar. He pulled it open, and saw that in place of the file he had stowed in there, there was one of Sandra’s trademark markers, complete with a rose and a kiss mark.

“ _Au revoir!_ ” she proclaimed.

Garrett turned once more, only to hear that notorious clicking noise as Sandra activated her cane’s special feature, sending her shooting out the window and over the fire escape. Garrett watched her land across the parking lot, right on top off the New Cooper Gang RV.

“COOPER!!!!” He shouted.

Sandra gave him a salute, then opened the sun roof of the RV and jumped in. She dove for the passenger seat and buckled in tight.

“PUNCH IT MURRAY!!”

Murray did just that and the two sped off, leaving a fuming Inspector Garrett in their wake. Sandra watched him disappear as Murray turned to her.

“So where to now?”

Sandra leaned back in her seat and smiled.

“Just follow my directions and we’ll be there soon.”

…..

The large prison transport van came screeching down the street towards the safe house. It parked (illegally) by the alleyway where the Cooper Van had been stashed, and where Bentley was loading up the last of their gear. Carmelita and Sly quickly climbed out, ditching their police garbs for their usual outfits.

“Bentley, we’re gonna need you to open the van door.” Sly explained. “It’s electronically padlocked.”

Bentley cracked his knuckles, then wheeled over to the door. He pried the casing off the lock and crossed a few wires. Within seconds, the lock was disengaged and the doors opened.

“Once again, technology trembles beneath me.” He said with a smile.

Benjy and Marcus jumped out of the van, both of them smiling.

“So, you’re Bentley, eh?” Benjy asked. “Much obliged.”

“Oh it was nothing.” Bentley said with a wave of his hand. Marcus barreled past the two intellectuals, making a bee-line for the Cooper Van.

“This is the Cooper Van?” he asked. “It looks AWESOME!!”

Sly smiled as he climbed into the passenger seat.

“Just wait til you get behind the wheel.” He replied.

Marcus’s eyes got wide and his smile got bigger.

“I get to drive it?!”

Bentley wheeled over to the back of the van, pulling the doors open. Tapping his boosters, he jumped in, the wheel locks automatically hooking onto his wheelchair.

“You’re the only one of us who knows how to drive a stick shift.” He explained.

Benjy and Carmelita climbed into the back of the van as Marcus took the driver’s seat.

“Where’re we headed mates?” Benjy asked.

“Sandra said to tell you to meet up, and I’m quoting her on this, ‘our usual dumping grounds’. Said you’d know where to go.”

Marcus and Benjy shared a knowing smile, then the van sped off into the night.

…..

On the outskirts of Paris, there was an old railyard filled with displaced and abandoned cars. It was here that the Cooper van arrived, surprisingly, they got their first. Marcus pulled up to a large group of train cars that looked like they had been pieced together to form some sort of housing unit.

“Well?” Benjy asked out of the blue. “Whatcha think?”

Sly gave a nod of approval.

“Reminds me of that old caboose we used as a hideout for a while, only bigger.”

Carmelita raised an eyebrow.

“You lived in a train car?”

“What, did you think we lived in the van?” Bentley asked.

Carmelita blushed slightly as everyone chuckled good naturedly. They were all about to go inside when the New Cooper Gang RV pulled up. Murray had barely put the car in park before Sandra threw the side door open.

“BENJY!!” she screamed. “MARCUS!!”

The two of them both turned to Sandra.

“SANDY!!” Benjy exclaimed.

“SANDRA!!” Marcus shouted.

They barreled towards each other, Sandra scooping up Benjy into a big hug as Marcus grabbed them both. They hugged each other tightly, and even from a distance, Carmelita could make out happy tears rolling down their faces.

“Wow…” she whispered.

“Yeah…” Sly whispered back. “Those guys are close. Maybe even closer than me, Bentley and Murray.”

Sandra and her friend didn’t release each other for a good two minutes, until Marcus finally put Benjy and Sandra down. Almost immediately, the koala began to lightheartedly tease Sandra.

“Two months ya been gone. Two months! Whatcha do, get lost?”

“I would have been back sooner if someone hadn’t screwed up the time machine.” Sandra teased right back. “I was floating around in limbo for a month and a half thanks to your thing.”

“I told ya it had some flaws.”

“No, flaws are a stuck minute hand or a clicker you need to push harder than normal. That was just poor planning.”

The two stared at each other before hugging once more.

“I missed ya, Sandy.”

“The feeling’s mutual, Benjy.”

“HEY!” Marcus exclaimed. “What about me?!”

“Who could forget about you Marcus?” Sandra replied.

She let Marcus pick her up once more, closing her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I’m so happy…. You guy…. Are… safe…..”

Her entire body went limp and she sagged into Marcus’ grip. The original Cooper gang and Carmelita all got a bit nervous at that. They came over, each of them with worried looks on their faces.

“Is she alright?” Sly asked.

Benjy just smiled.

“Aye. She’d just a wee bit tired. Nothin’ a night’s rest won’t cure.”

Marcus carried Sandra into the large train car house, laying Sandra down in the bed of what appeared to be an overnight car turned into some sort of barrack. Sly approached the bed, an almost fatherly instinct making him pull the blanket over her still form.

“That’s the most peaceful she’s looked since I met her.” Sly commented.

Marcus chuckled.

“She didn’t sleep while she was with you did she?” he asked.

Carmelita shook her head.

“Nope… She was usually looking at a photo of you guys, or pacing around.”

Benjy snorted softly, looking at his sleeping friend.

“Sounds like Sandy… What we did te deserve a mate like her is beyond me.”

They all slipped out of Sandra’s little room.

“So what happens now?” Marcus asked. “Are you going back to your time?”

Sly crossed his arms, shaking his head.

“Not yet.” He replied. “Sandra asked for our help, so I know I’m staying.”

“Same here.” Bentley added. “I’m curious about the technological advances your time period has.”

“If Sly and Bentley stay, then, ‘The Murray’ stays as well.”

Sly then turned to Carmelita.

“What about you?” he asked. “We can take you back home if you want.”

Carmelita scoffed.

“If you think I’m gonna let you criminals run amok unsupervised, you’ve gone _loco_ from your time in Egypt. I’m not letting you three out of my sight for a minute. Especially you Ring-tail.”

Everybody grinned.

“Then it’s settled.” Bentley said. “Looks like the New Cooper Gang and the Original Cooper gang are in for the greatest tag team of all time.”

Everybody laughed at the joke, then settled in for a well-deserved rest.


	8. War Crimes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two Cooper gangs have chosen their first Target, General Harleen Shyre down in South Africa. The mission barely even starts before it becomes quite evident that this job is going to be more difficult than any job they've pulled before.

Sandra awoke slowly, rubbing sleep from her eyes almost reluctantly. When she saw where she was however, a smile came to her face.

“Dorothy couldn’t have put it better way.” She muttered to herself. “There’s no place like home.”

Climbing out of bed, she grabbed her hat, boots, and her hoodie (all of which Marcus had taken off of her before putting her in bed), and made her way to the dining car that served as the dining room/meeting room.

Benjy and Bentley were seated at the table, pouring over blueprints and road maps, comparing notes and drawing out plans. Marcus and Murray were bringing in large plates laden with food, the smell causing Sandra’s stomach to rumble. Carmelita and Sly were both sitting off to the side, having what looked like a private conversation. However, that quickly changed when Sly spotted Sandra in the doorway.

“About time you woke up.” He called.

Everyone turned towards her as she walked into the room.

“How long was I out?” she asked as she sat down.

“Pretty much all day.” Marcus replied, sliding a plate of food in front of her.

Sandra immediately started scarfing down the food as everyone gathered around the table. In between bites of food, Sandra looked around the table and wasn’t too surprised to see the file she’d snatched from Garrett’s office open and its contents scattered.

“I see you started without me.” She commented. “Not that I blame you. I was out.”

“We figured you wouldn’t mind.” Carmelita replied.

Sandra just snorted, waving it off like no big deal.

“Nah. This isn’t the first time Benjy and Marcus did the planning while I was snoozing. Won’t be the last either.”

Benjy gave a knowing smile as Bentley spoke up.

“Well, now that you’re awake, we can go over what we know.”

The turtle sifted through the piles of paper as if searching for something while Benjy took his turn to speak.

“About a week inna ar recovery, Garrett had me meet wit a sketch artist.”

Sandra smirked.

“And let me guess, you gave him a detailed description from their physical features right down to the brand of deodorant they wore.”

“Aye, I did.” Benjy replied with a chuckle. “And he managed te git quite a bit a info on te two-bit hustlers who tried ta kill us.”

Bentley finally found what he was looking for and grabbed it. He held it up triumphantly, then handed it over to Sandra.

“After reviewing the profiles of the attackers, both Benjy and I agree that our first target is this one here.”

Sandra took the profile, examining it with a serious glance.

“Harleen Shyre…..” she muttered, then her eyes widened a bit. “General Harleen Shyre...”

“That’s right.” Benjy said. “Big shot General in te South African army, and de woman who was leadin’ de siege of ar warehouse.”

Sandra looked at the photo clipped to the profile, a shiver running down her spine. Harleen was a fierce looking lioness with half of her face made out of metal. Flashes of this lioness threatening her and her friends went through her mind.

“I remember her… I can still hear her snarling at us.”

“Yeah.” Marcus added. “She was pretty tough.”

“Of course she was tough.” Bentley interjected. “According to her file, she was orphaned at a young age when her family was caught in the cross fire of a big oil war. She joined the army at 16 and used her strategic prowess and ruthlessness to rise up in the ranks at a record pace.”

“Afta tha’ she was injured in battle, losin’ er left eye an ear.” Benjy added. “She was sent inna the Cybernetics program, but by te time she got out, the war was ova…. And er side had lost.”

“But how did a big shot general in Africa end up beating the snot out of you three here in Paris?” Murray asked.

“I’ll make sure to ask her when we pay her a visit.” Sandra replied. “Where is she?”

“Last known sighting is in a military compound on the outskirts of Shakakane.” Bentley supplied. “We’ll have to arrange air travel to get down there…. What to plane tickets cost these days?”

Sandra, Marcus and Benjy all looked at each other for a minute, then they all busted out into peels of uncontrollable laughter. Sandra started pounding the table and Benjy fell clean out of his seat. The original Cooper Gang watched this, wondering what had been said that was so funny.

“Umm…” Carmelita finally said. “Did we miss something?”

Sandra finally managed to calm down, but she was still giggling.

“Hehe….. You guys…. Use planes? Hehehe….”

“Well, yeah.” Murray replied. “Well… there was that one job we pulled where Bentley turned the van into a plane, but it kinda broke after that.”

Benjy picked himself up off the floor, turning to Bentley.

“Well den, it looks like we’ve got some work ta do before we cin go anywhere. We gotta git yer van sky ready.”

Murray’s eyes lit up.

“Sky ready?!” he exclaimed.

Benjy turned back to him, a smile on his face.

“Aye. Ar RV cin fly, why not yer van?”

Benjy walked off, Bentley hot on his heels to help. Everyone watched them go as Murray smiled.

“I love the future!”

…..

It took the rest of the night, as well as a good portion of the next day, but by the time dinner time rolled around again, the Cooper Van had gotten a major modification.

“Alright mate.” Benjy said to Murray, who was sitting in the driver’s seat of the van. “Listen carefully. Yer van’s now equipped wit hover engines in de wheels. To activate em, press de circle button on de console.”

Murray did so and the Van lurched, hovering slightly in the air as the wheels flipped themselves horizontally.

“Now, steering’s a bit different from wat yer used ta. Once ya activate flight mode, de wheel automatically unlocks. Turnin’s de same, but if ya wanna go up, pull de wheel towards yerself. Ta go down, just push de wheel back inna place. Da speeds still ta same.”

Murray gave it a test, sending the van up and down, as well as making a couple laps around the derelict train yard. The grin never left his face as he flew.

“This is awesome!” the hippo exclaimed.

Benjy chuckles, leaning back in the seat as Murray brought the van to a landing.

“Glad ya approve.”

Once the van was safely back on the ground, Benjy hopped out and approached the rest of the group, who were watching from the roof of the RV.

“Test drive passes, we’re ready ta fly when ya are mates.”

Sandra stood up, a smile on her face.

“Thanks Benjy. I just got one thing to say.”

Benjy said an eyebrow as Sandra’s grin got wider.

“SHOTGUN!!”

She leapt through the open sunroof as Benjy laughed, shaking his head.

“Ya always git shotgun, Sandy!” He yelled as he climbed into the back of the RV. “Why doncha let me havva go one day.”

“NEVER!!”

Bentley, Sly and Carmelita all shared a laugh as Marcus helped them off the RV’s roof.

“Are those two always play fighting?” Carmelita asked.

“Yep.” Marcus replied, a small smile on his face. “I’ve missed their playful banter. Thanks for rescuing us and helping us take these guys down.”

“Don’t mention it big guy.” Sly replied.

Murray honked the horn of the van.

“COME ONE GUYS! IT’S A LONG FLIGHT TO SOUTH AFRICA!”

Marcus quickly climbed into the RV as the rest of the Original Cooper gang and Carmelita got into the van. Within seconds, they were flying over the horizon.

…..

Things had gotten a bit boring on the long flight to South Africa, at least until Benjy and Bentley activated the holographic communication link set up between the two vehicles. Using the device that Bentley had given Dimitri when the gang went on the time traveling adventure, the two genii had managed to create a way for all seven of them to be in constant contact.

At first the connection had been used to try and develop different strategies for when they got to South Africa, but had quickly devolved into a session of jokes and story telling that had all seven of them, even Carmelita laughing.

“So wait…” Sly asked in between chuckles. “Garrett caught you stealing a cross from Notre Dame, and the best joke you could come up with was ‘The Devil made me do it’?!”

Sandra snorted, nodding.

“I was hanging upside down. I blame it on the blood rushing to my brain.”

“Blame it more on Garrett dressed as a priest!” Benjy commented laughing at the memory. “Frock and everything.”

Everyone laughed at that, imagining the stern, serious wolf dressed in priest’s garbs. Then Carmelita spoke up.

“Remember that inside job we pulled in Morocco, Sly?” Carmelita asked.

“The one where we pretended to be kitchen staff at the Sheik’s palace?” Sly replied.

“Oh, I don’t think this was written in the Thievius.” Sandra commented, settling in for a story.

“We had gotten word that Sheik Omar Ben Salaad was working with smugglers to get illegal contraband out of Morocco and into Europe.” Carmelita explained. “He was holding this lavish party with guests from all over the world, so Sly and I sneak in, disguised as waiters.”

“I’m serving food, and that’s when I spot Rajan.” Sly added.

“Rajan?!” Everyone except Carmelita exclaimed.

“I thought he was selling Persian carpets in North America.” Bentley interjected.

“Apparently it was a front for a smuggling ring.” Sly explained. “He would hide the contraband in the carpets and ship them across the world, where his agents would remove the goods from the carpets.”

“Makes sense.” Benjy commented.

“After all, a tiger can’t change its stripes.” Marcus added.

That earned a snicker from everyone as Sly and Carmelita continued.

“I’m of course freaking out because I’m sure that he’s gonna recognize me.” Sly commented.

“And I’m freaking out because I think if Sly sees him, he’ll start to remember.” Carmelita added. “I’m scrambling to come up with a plan, then remember I’m holding a large bowl of mashed potatoes.”

Everybody’s eye’s widened, save for Sly, who just snickered.

“You didn’t…” Murray said.

Blushing slightly, yet smiling widely, Carmelita gave a nod.

“I did…. I ‘accidentally’ dumped the entire bowl of mashed potatoes on Rajan’s head!”

Everyone busted out into laughter, Sandra and Sly both laughing so hard they were slapping their knees.

“Oh He must have been mad!” Bentley chortled, remembering how Rajan had been when the gang had confronted him in Operation Wet Tiger.

“Oh he was.” Sly remarked in between chuckles. “You never would have thought he’d stopped eating Spice with the tantrum he threw.”

The two gangs laughed a bit more, but the festivities were then cut off by an alarm going off in the RV.

“Proximity Alert!” Marcus shouted.

His outburst was then followed by an explosion that shook the two vehicles and sent everybody (except Marcus and Murray who were buckled in and driving) bouncing around like kernels of popcorn. Once they recovered, everyone looked out the windows to see a HUGE military base beneath them, with what could only be missile launchers aimed directly at them.

“Buckle up mates!” Bentley cried, jumping into his seat and buckling in. “I do believe we just got spotted!”

Sly strapped himself in as Carmelita put Bentley back in his chair then took her seat. Sandra then strapped herself in just as a second explosion rang out.

“At least we know we made it to South Africa.” Sly joked.

Carmelita braced herself for another explosion, shooting the raccoon a serious glare.

“We’re getting shot out of the sky, Ring-tail. Can’t you be serious for once?”

“I’m always serious.” Sly replied. “Besides, I trust Murray’s driving abilities.”

As if to prove his friend right, Murray successfully dodged another missile, floored the gas and made a bee-line for the small village of Shakakane, a few kilometers from the military base. Marcus quickly followed the Hippo’s lead.

“We need ta land, hide de Van and de RV, and git a safe house right quick!” Benjy explained.

Sandra then pointed out the window.

“Over there! That farmhouse looks promising! We can hide the rides in the barn!”

Without further ado, Marcus and Murray both made a hasty retreat towards the farmhouse.

…..

The gang managed to hide the two vehicles in the large barn and get to the safety of the farmhouse before a search party came looking for them. Once they were safely inside, Benjy and Bentley got to work setting up their usual systems. Marcus and Murray teamed up to barricade windows and doors while Sly, Sandra, and Carmelita all peered out at the street.

“Cut that one a bit too close for comfort.” Carmelita remarked.

“Agreed.” Sandra replied. “Shoulda been keeping an eye on our trajectory.”

“At least we made it in one piece.” Sly interjected with a positive note to his voice. “Nothing got destroyed, nobody’s hurt, and we’re where we need to be.”

“Still, where we need to be is a gigantic military base.” Carmelita retorted. “Look at this place.”

“I have to agree with Carmelita on this one, Sly.” Bentley called out. “This place make’s Dr. M’s fortress on Kaine Island look like child’s play.”

Sandra turned to Bentley with an optimistic smile.

“Don’t worry about it, Bentley.” Sandra insisted. “We’ll be able to handle this.”

Bentley met Sandra’s gaze, his expression the epitome of seriousness.

“Sandra…. When we took down the Kaine Island fortress, we had The Guru, The Panda King, Dimitri, and Penelope. Not to mention Carmelita and an army of hired mercenaries and we STILL barely got out of there with our lives.”

“We can do it.” Sandra insisted. “We have two Coopers, two of the strongest people ever, two complete criminal genii and we have one of INTERPOL’s best inspectors. We. Can. Do this.”

Once again, Sandra had proven herself a Cooper with tha notorious Cooper optimism. Bentley found himself believing her words as he sighed.

“Alright… but we still shouldn’t take any chances.” He relented. “WE should try to work in pairs where we can, just so we don’t get caught unawares.”

“Good idea.” Marcus commented.

“You think awesome, Bentley.” Murray added.

Carmelita then turned away from the window, her cop instincts analyzing the situation like a sting operation.

“If we’re going to do this, then we’ll need to survey the area. Get our bearings, figure out key locations, the usual stuff.”

“Sounds like us, Sly.” Sandra remarked, snagging the spare binoc-u-cam. “You coming old man?”

Sly snickered, snagging his own and heading for the door.

“Im gonna make you eat those words, ‘Sandy’.”

Sandra just smirked then headed out the door, Sly right behind her.

…..

Running across the rooftops of the small huts and farms that dotted the savannah, Sly and Sandra could make out dozens of soldiers patrolling the streets of this tiny village.

“Sheesh…” Sandra remarked. “This entire place is under martial law.”

“Considering how close this place is to Harleen’s military base, it only makes sense that she’d seize the village.” Bentley commented through the comms.

Sly perched on the chimney of one of the buildings, Sandra directly beneath him.

“Still… this is serious overkill…” He murmured.

“Well, she did spot two – hopefully – unidentified objects flying through the sky.” Sandra replied.

“True.” Sly relented. “Besides, this gives us a peek at her forces.”

Taking out their binoc-u-cams, the two scanned the area, focusing on the patrols. They could see Hyenas and leopards milling about the village, as well as the usual flashlight guards, who appeared to be large hippos.

“Murray’s not gonna like this.” Sly whispered.

“Not gonna like what?” Murray asked.

Both Coopers winced.

“The flashlight guards…. They’re hippos.”

“Yeah… so?” Murray asked. “They’re bad guys, not like ‘the Murray’.”

Sandra and Sly exchanged a glance, but shrugged it off, then continued.

“We may be able ta use dis ta ar advantage.” Benjy commented. “If Harleen’s got hippos on da payroll, we may be able ta git Murray in as a new recruit.”

“Good idea Benjy.” Sandra replied.

The two raccoons then made their way towards the Military base, which was with GIGANTIC complex set up just on the outskirts of the village. It was surrounded by large, electric gates lined with barbed wire and guarded by several of the hippo flashlight guards. Roaming spotlights also took out any crevice of shadow there may have been around the perimeter. The base also didn’t have any trees or buildings nearby, making a piston pole vault/paraglider combo impossible.

“Sheesh…. I can’t tell if this woman is cautious or paranoid.” Carmelita commented.

“You’re telling me.” Sandra replied. “I’ve seen Maximum Security prisons with less protection than this place. This place is impenetrable.”

“Nothing is impenetrable.” Sly remarked. “Still, the direct approach is all but shot. We’d need a way over or under that gate, and judging from the artillery they were shooting at us when we were overhead, I’d prefer under.”

“We’ll figure out a way in later, but right now, try and find the encampment’s CCU tower.” Bentley interjected. “Benjy and I’ll need it if we’re gonna figure out Harleen’s plans.”

Sandra spotted it first, right smack dab in the center of the camp.

“I found it.” She whispered, “However, It’s gonna take some serious ingenuity to get at it.”

“We’ll figure something out.” Sly assured her.

A loud rumbling off in the distance sent Sly and Sandra both diving for cover in the tall grass as a line of large military trucks came rolling up the dirt path. Instinctively, the two Coopers pulled out their binoc-u-cams once more.

“Hmm… Looks like a supply convoy.” Bentley stated.

“Figger out wha’s inside.” Benjy suggested.

Luckily, that wasn’t too hard as a pair of hippos came over to inspect the cargo. Reaching into the back, one of them pulled out a very large firearm. Bentley and Benjy immediately flipped out.

“Tha- Tha’s an AR-56!” Benjy exclaimed. “One a de latest models of assault rifles currently in production!”

“If that entire convoy is carrying weapons like that… then Harleen’s preparing for WAR!!” Bentley cried.

Sandra gulped, lowering her binoc-u-cam.

“We gotta get in there and figure out what the heck she’s planning.” She muttered, gripping her cane tightly.

Sly gave a nod, scanning the area for any sign of weakness, until he spotted something.

“Over there.” He said.

Sandra looked over at where Sly was pointing, a small smile gracing her face. There was a water runoff drain off the side of the cliff. There was a grate over it, but that could be easily dealt with.

“What did I say?” Sly said with a smirk. “Nothing is impenetrable.”

Slinking through the grass, the two raccoons approached the grate. Sandra braced the butt of her cane against the metal, mashing the circle button and breaking the stress points. Within minutes, the grate was gone and the way was clear.

“After you.” Sly said with a bow.

“Age before beauty, old man.”

Sandra shook his head with a smile, then crawled into the water drain with Sandra right behind him. The tunnel starts out skinny, but soon becomes wide enough for the two of them to walk normally, and right next to each other. When they reached the end of the tunnel, it was no big surprise that there was another grate barring the way, but they didn’t take it down. Instead, they pulled out their binoc-u-cams and tried to see what they could find.

All around, they could see entire platoons of soldiers running around, perform drills, marching, and training. From the sheer number of soldiers, there was no doubt what Harleen’s intentions were.

“Looks like your hypothesis was correct Bentley.” Sandra whispered. “Harleen is preparing for war.”

“Guess it’s a good thing we chose her first.” Bentley remarked.

It was then that the two thieves heard a very distinctive, and very commanding voice call out over the noise of the soldiers.

“COME ON MAGGOTS! I’VE SEEN CUBS MOVE FASTER THAN YOU LOT!!”

From the way Sandra flinched, Sly knew that the voice could only belong to the one and only General Harleen Shyre. He followed the voice until he finally found the lioness. She was tall and very well built, like a professional wrestlers or weight lifter. Her fur was light brown with even lighter patches on her muzzle and paws, with short brown hair that was pulled back into a tight bun. She had multiple scars that peeked out from underneath army fatigues, the most notable ones being the ones that stretched out from underneath the left side of her face, which was entirely metal. Her left eye was glowing yellow, and gave her an even more menacing appearance than she already had.

“Wow… That picture did not do her justice.” Sly whispered.

Sandra just stood there, shaking like a leaf. Sly turned to her and gently took her shoulder, trying to calm her down. Instead the red raccoon practically jumped at the physical contact.

“Sorry…” she whispered apologetically.

“Trust me, I understand.” He replied. “The last time you saw her, she was attacking your friends. Just remember, this time it’s different.”

Sandra was still a bit shaken, but took a deep breath and steeled her nerves.

“Right.” She said. “Benjy, Bentley… need any more pictures?”

There was a second hesitation before Benjy came on the line.

“See if ya cin git a picture of da storehouse an de ammo dump. Dat may come in handy.”

Sly and Sandra quickly manned the binoc-u-cam, searching for the requested buildings. The ammo dump wasn’t too hard to find, thanks to the convoy from earlier. Sly managed to spot one of the delivery trucks driving right up to the large clearing chocked full of different weapons.

“I’ve got the Ammo Dump.” Sly whispered. “You find the storehouse?”

“3 o’clock.” Sandra whispered back.

Sly turned to his 3 o’clock and saw the large storehouse. It was incredibly big, big enough to hold enough food to feed an army for months at least.

“I think that’s good for now.” Bentley told them. “Get back to the safe house. We need to come up with a plan.”

The two raccoons stowed their binoc-u-cams and snuck back through the tunnel to the safe house.

…..

Sly and Sandra got back to the safe house without incident, handing over their binoc-u-cams so Bentley and Benjy could analyze the footage. It took the two of them about 30 minutes to figure out what needed to be done, and they quickly gathered up the gang to explain.

“Alright gang.” Bentley started. “This operation is gonna be one of our toughest yet. It’s gonna take all of us working together if we’re to succeed, and that includes you Carmelita.”

Carmelita just gave a nod, having decided to accept the fact that she wasn’t exactly a police officer right now. Benjy then took over, bringing up random shots of the base.

“Ar first priority is gittin a peek at Harleen’s plans, but ta do tha’, we’re gonna need a man on da inside.”

“That’s where you come in Murray.” Bentley explained. “You’ll go in as a potential recruit, and with your strength, I have no doubt that she’ll take you on.”

Murray smiled as he flexed.

“Don’t worry pal. ‘The Murray’ shall not disappoint.”

Benjy continued from there.

“Afta ya gain their trust, yer gonna hafta find a way ta git rid of da grate blockin tha pipe without getting caught. Tha’ll let me come in an take care of tha CCU tower and figger out where Miss Harleen’s war is.”

“While Benjy’s dealing with that, Sly and Sandra will plant a bug in Harleen’s quarters.”

“What about me and Marcus?” Carmelita asked, determined to make herself useful.

“Yeah, what about us?” Marcus added.

“We haven’t forgotten you two.” Benjy assured them. “You’ll be takin out de bridge de convoys use te git inna da base. Wit it down, dey’ll hafta rely on wha they got.”

“Which won’t be much after we initiate phase 2.” Benjy concluded.

Sandra whistled, smiling.

“Man, I am glad you two are on our side.” She chuckled.

“Yeah. I’d hate to have you guys as enemies.” Sly agreed.

Carmelita, having been on the receiving end of some of Bentley’s plans, nodded in agreement. With a plan in motion, the gang put their hands in, each portraying a confident smile.

“Let’s bring down this war monger.” Sandra declared.


	9. Lock and Load

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preparations to bring down Harleen Shyre are underway, but a nasty discovery quickly makes this mission all the more vital, not just to the survival of the New Cooper Gang, but to the survival of many innocent lives.

Murray was the key factor of this particular part of the operation, so he went out into the field first. He walked confidently through the streets of the village, making a bee line for the military base. The guards all watched as he marched, but paid him no mind, assuming he was there to join the army.

As he approached the main gate, two of the hippo guards blocked his path.

“Halt!” they ordered. “State your name and your intention with this base.”

Murray gave a deep bow as he spoke.

“I am but a humble recruit, here to offer my strength to aid your cause.” He told them, though his voice was far from humble.

The two hippo guards looked Murray up and down, as if examining his worth as a soldier.

“You don’t look like a soldier.” One of the guards told him.

“Oh, let him try.” The other insisted. “The General’s been riding us to gather recruits. Maybe letting this chump try out will get her off our backs.”

The first guard relented and the gates opened, allowing Murray inside. Barely concealing the large grin on his face, Murray made his way into the compound.

“So far so good big guy.” Sly told him. “Just play it cool, and find a way to break that grate.”

“No worries.” Murray announced. “I got this.”

Near the training grounds that Sly and Sandra had spotted earlier, Murray could see the General marching about, barking orders at her men.

“MOVE IT MAGGOTS!” She ordered to a group of hyenas doing practice matches. “YOU CALL THAT FIGHTING?! MY BABY BROTHER COULD FIGHT HARDER THAN YOU LOT, GOD REST HIS SOUL!”

Murray approached the lioness and she paused mid rant. Her mechanical eye seemed to bore into him, reminding Murray of his unpleasant experience at the hands of the Contessa. He suppressed a shiver as she faced him, surprisingly meeting the big guy eye to eye.

“Who the heck are you?” she demanded.

“I am here to offer myself as a new recruit for your army.” He told her, straightening as he did.

She snorted in contempt, pacing around him.

“I have many hippos in my army already, and they are only good for guard duty. What makes you different?”

“I am no ordinary hippo.” Murray declared, punching his hand with his fist. “I once bested 50 hardened criminals with not but my bare hands.”

The General seemed slightly impressed by that and gave a small nod.

“Alright… but those were criminals… Let’s see how you do against 50 of my best men. If you can defeat them, then maybe I will believe you are no ordinary hippo.”

“Go for it Murray.” Bentley told him. “You could use the brawl as an excuse to destroy that grate. Just throw enough soldiers at it and it should bust right open.”

“Bring it on!” Murray shouted.

The General took a step back, an evil smirk on her face. Picking up a whistle hanging around her neck, she blew it loudly, and almost immediately, Murray found himself surrounded by a large group of hyenas. They all laughed at him the way hyenas do, then launched at him. Murray let them come, then swung his fist. He sent one flying right into another, knocking them both out.

Without hesitation, he grabbed the two of them by their tails and swung them over his head and sending them flying towards the grate. It dented on impact with the first soldier, and then even more so with the send. It was gonna take a few more projectiles to destroy the grate, but luckily, Murray still had 48 more soldiers to pummel.

One of the hyenas jumped onto Murray’s back, attempting to sink his teeth into the hippo’s shoulder, but Murray grabbed his muzzle before he could. This one he swung around like a baseball bat, knocking away soldiers left and right. He took out another 7 soldiers before sending his makeshift bat flying towards the grate. It still refused to break.

“10 down, 40 to go!” Murray declared.

The hyenas were starting to get smart. Rather than come at him one at a time, a group of 6 of them tackled him to the ground. They managed to pin him for about 15 seconds before Murray sent them all flying in various directions. Another 4 came up, two of them grabbing Murray’s left arm while the other two grabbed his right. He just smirked, then threw his arms together, bashing their skulls together.

“That’s 20.”

Off to the side, he could still see the grate holding up, and he knew he needed to get it to break. Grabbing another hyena, he began bashing about nine of the others with him, then tossed him at the grate. It buckled even more, and yet it was STILL holding.

“Oi, tha thing is sturdy.” Benjy commented.

“Still, it’s starting to bust.” Marcus added. “Just keep knocking those brutes down Murray. You’ve already bested 30 of them.”

Murray cracked his knuckles, then faced his remaining opponents. They all converged on him, all twenty of them, and he jumped into the air. He spun slightly, them got into his Thunder Flop stance.

“INCOMING!!” He shouted.

He easily flattened about five hyenas who weren’t able to scatter fast enough. The remaining fifteen were now starting to show signs of fear, but Murray wouldn’t back down. He grabbed one by the face, tossing him towards the grate, the grabbed another and slammed him into a nearby post. It shattered on impact, giving Murray a great idea. He picked up the shattered post and heaved it like a bat.

“BATTER UP!!”

He swung the post and struck the remaining 13 hyenas. He released his makeshift bat and sent it flying right into the grate. The combined weight of the 13 hyenas and the shattered post. Finally caused the grate to snap, opening the tunnel.

“50!” Murray shouted. “And I didn’t even break a sweat!”

“Great job big guy.” Sandra congratulated him. “Knew you could do it.”

A slow clap drew Murray’s attention and he turned to see the General. She had this malicious smirk on her face as she approached Murray.

“It appears my men need more training.” She said. “And that I’ve found myself a new recruit for my army. What’s your name?”

“I am known as ‘The Murray’.”

“Well then, welcome to the South African army, Sergeant Murray.”

Several of the hyenas that Murray had beaten were picking themselves up off the ground and weren’t exactly happy about Murray’s rank.

“General. With all due respect, he’s a new recruit. He should be starting out with the rank of Private.”

Harleen turned to the hyena that spoke, her gaze anything but kind.

“Are you questioning my decision, Corporal Fang?” she demanded.

“N-no ma’am…. It’s just-”

“Question me again, and perhaps I’ll start to question why I named you Corporal when you and an entire platoon of soldiers can be taken out by a single opponent.”

The hyena gulped and wisely held his tongue after that. Harleen gave a nod, then turned towards Murray once more.

“Corporal Fang will show you to the barracks, where you can set yourself up a bunk and get your uniform.”

Murray gave a salute as she walked away. The Corporal begrudgingly did as he was told and led Murray away.

…..

With Murray successfully on the inside and the path into the base now open, it was Benjy’s turn to shine. The koala slunk through the village, approaching the water pipe.

“We good mate?” he asked as he prepared to enter the pipe.

“You’re good to go Benjy.” Murray replied. “The soldiers didn’t even notice the grate so there shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Thanks mate.” Benjy told him. “I’m goin’ in.”

He crawled into the pipe, following it all the way up to the entrance. He poked his head out, looking around to make sure nobody spotted him. Luckily, most of the soldiers had been taken out during Murray’s ‘initiation’ and the rest were either watching the perimeter or asleep.

With the path clear, Benjy made his way across the compound, avoiding the security spotlights and dodging the occasional sleeping guard (he also swiped a couple wallets and some small African trinkets to sell on Thiefnet later).

He eventually made it to the CCU tower, cracking his knuckles in anticipation.

“De terminals at de top of de tower.” He muttered to himself. “Time fer a little climbin’ action.”

“Just be careful.” Bentley told him. “If our calculations are correct, then The General has most likely rigged the tower with various security systems, so keep an eye out for those.”

“Will do.” Benjy told him. “Ya just stand by fer when I git te de terminal. If de Generals outside security is dis tight, den de firewalls might be even tighta. It may take de two of us ta crack it.”

“Don’t worry.” Bentley told him. “I think two genii like ourselves can handle it.”

Benjy nodded, then turned back towards the tower. Without further hesitation he jumped up, hooking onto the side of the tower and beginning his ascent. As Bentley had predicted, there were some laser grids set up to make the path a bit difficult and Benjy had to shimmy to the right to be able to go up again. Once more, his path was blocked and he shimmied to the left this time.

The pattern was seemingly random; up, right, up, left, up, left, down, left, up, up, right, up, until finally he reached the top of the tower and got access to the maintenance terminal. Benjy pulled himself in front of the terminal, then placed Bentley’s grapple cam (which he’d been carrying in a small backpack) on top of the terminal.

“Ya ready?” he asked, his fingers hovering over the terminal keyboard.

“Let’s do this.” Bentley replied.

The two immediately began hacking away at the CCU’s security system, sending their avatars into the system. Bentley’s avatar, Spex_Guy, looked like him, but was incredibly buff, wearing shades, a red bandana, a jetpack, and carrying dual shock pistols. Benjy’s, Koala_Kid324, also looked like him, but his was also more buff and wearing a karate uniform complete with a black belt and karate headband. Rather than carrying a weapon, the avatar shot balls of energy out of its palms.

“Nice avatar.” Bentley commented.

“Ditto mate.” Benjy replied.

As with back in Paris, the firewalls instantly went up and tried to get rid of the digital intruders, but they were just too good.  The two cyber avatars shot at the bits of firewall, utterly destroying the code.

“Ya got some Trojans on yer tail Bentley.” Benjy warned.

“I see them.” Bentley replied

Spex_Guy turned and quickly destroyed the Trojans as Koala_Kid324 came and covered his back. Protective measures activated to try and drive out the avatars, converging on them in swarms. Remaining back to back, the two began destroying the attackers while slowly making their way towards the main circuit.

“We must be gittin close.” Benjy commented. “De security’s gittin tougha.”

“I hear you on that one.” Bentley replied. “Whatever Harleen Shyre’s planning, she definitely doesn’t want anybody finding out.”

“Well den, she shouldn’t ‘ave messed wit de Cooper Gang.” Benjy quipped.

The two continued their way deeper into the mainframe until they final confronted the central hub for the security system. Benjy whistled at the sight.

“Looks like she’s got de Vista Online Security System. One a de best hack proof systems out dere.”

“How long should it take?” Bentley asked.

“Five minutes, tops.” Benjy replied.

The two avatars jumped at the central hub, blasting the ever living daylights out of it. As expected, it attempted to fire back, but the superior hacking skills of the two genii was too much for the system to handle, and just like Benjy predicted, it went down after about 5 minutes. The two avatars watched the remains of the security dissolve into 1’s and 0’s, high fiving each other.

“Great job, Spex_Guy.” Benjy said.

“You two, Koala_Kid324.” Bentley replied.

With the way open, the two of them quickly dove into the system, searching for any information that could tell them what Harleen was planning to do with her massive stockpile of weapons and oversized army.

“I managed to find the schedule for the different convoys.” Bentley announced. “How about you?”

Benjy was silent for a good minute, staring at his screen in utter shock.

“Bloody oath…” he muttered.

“What’s wrong?” Bentley asked. “What did you-?”

His question trailed off as he found the documents Benjy was look at and he had to clean his glasses to make sure he was reading it correctly.

“Merciful hades….” He muttered.

“We…. Ar in deep Barney.” Benjy said with a terrified stutter.

…..

Benjy and Bentley got together the second the former returned to the safe house. The two of them began muttering amongst themselves as Sly, Sandra, Carmelita, and Marcus all watched.

“I have never seen Bentley so serious.” Carmelita muttered. “Not since 1301.”

“I have.” Sly told her. “It was after Captain LeFwee snatched Penelope.”

“Who?” Carmelita asked.

“Pirate from Blood Bath Bay.” Sly explained. “You never showed up, but I sent you a postcard.”

“I was busy gathering my men for the Kaine Island assault.” Carmelita explained.

Marcus and Sandra looked over at Benjy with concerned looks as well. Eventually, Sandra walked over and tapped the koala on the head.

“Hey brainiacs.” She said. “Mind telling us what’s so scary?”

The two of them looked up, worry etched into every feature of their faces.

“Harleen’s not planning a war.” Bentley explained. “She’s planning a massacre.”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

“WHAT?!” They all exclaimed.

“Take a look.” Benjy told them, turning his computer terminal towards them.

You didn’t have to be a genius to read Harleen’s plans. There were clear maps of the different oil fields scattered across South Africa, little notes marking down guard details, work schedules, and best points of entry. There was also a detailed plan written out, with different outcomes for different events noted to the side. One look at the plan and there was no doubt what she was planning.

“She’s gonna attack the oil field.” Marcus whispered.

“And blow them sky high…” Sly added.

“That’ll kill dozens… no hundreds of innocent people.” Sandra calculated.

“ _Dios Mio…_ ” Carmelita swore.

Turning his computer back around, Benjy did some quick typing.

“We ain’t got much time.” He explained. “She’s almost got everything she needs for da big score. If we wanna stop ‘er, we needa act fast.”

“Carmelita.” Bentley interjected. “You and Marcus need to go destroy that bridge into the compound. If we can cut off their supplies now, we may have bought ourselves some more time to act.”

Carmelita stood up and grabbed her shock pistol.

“Marcus, get that RV of yours in gear. We need to take out that bridge.”

Marcus didn’t even hesitate, standing up and making his way out to the barn with Carmelita right behind him. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Sly found himself smiling.

“Good ole Carmelita.” He remarked. “Always there when you need her.”

“Glad she on our side for this go around.” Bentley replied. “I doubt we’d be able to do this without her.”

“Aye…” Benjy added. “We’ve teamed up wit Garret every now an’ den. Always come out on top…. Den he tries ta arrest us.”

“Something tells me it will be different this time.” Sandra interjected. “At least, with that last bit.”

Sly looked over at Sandra with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh?” he asked. “What makes you say that?”

Sandra simply kicked up her legs and pulled her hat down over her eyes.

“Call it a woman’s intuition.”

…..

It was difficult to keep the RV hidden while driving through the farmland of Shakakane, but somehow, Marcus managed it. They were driving away from the compound towards the edge of the small town, where the canal was. It was an incredibly deep canal that circled the village, most likely created by Harleen as both a way to get water into the base, as well as an extra layer of security. There was a single bridge into the village, and thus, into the compound via truck.

Upon reaching the canal, Marcus switched the RV into flight mode and took them down.

“Alright Carmelita.” Marcus announced. “We’re almost into position. You’ll have to man the turret.”

Carmelita had been expecting to use her shock pistol to take out the bridge. The last thing she expected was to have access to a turret.

“This thing has a turret?” she asked.

“Otto von Cooper’s design, with a few Bentley and Benjy tweaks.” Marcus explained.

He hit a green button with a triangle on it and the center table of the RV suddenly transformed into a platform. Carmelita stepped onto it and was slowly risen up through the skylight. As she came through, a large turret appeared in front of her.

“Impressive.” She muttered, taking a seat in front of the turret.

“The left analog stick controls the turret.” Marcus explained. “The right one controls the zoom lens of the sight. Just hit the red buttons to fire, but be careful. The gun can overheat, so fire in short bursts.”

“You’re kidding.” Carmelita groaned. “Just once I’d like to be able to continuously fire a turret without having to deal with overheating.”

“You can take that up with Benjy later. Right now, that bridge needs to go down.”

There was a distant rumbling noise and Carmelita immediately turned the turret towards the noise, seeing if she could see what the source of the noise was through the zoom lens. Down the road a ways, she could make out a new convoy of trucks, obviously laden with supplies, coming towards the bridge.

“Perfect.” Carmelita mused. “If I take out the bridge while the convoy drives across it, Harleen will believe it was the combined weights of the trucks that caused it to crumble.”

Taking aim at the supports of the bridge, Carmelita began her assault. The first support took about five shots for it to finally crack. However, when it fell, an automated defense system activated. Large missile launchers appeared from hidden decks in the rock.

“Uh-oh.” Marcus gulped. “We got trouble.”

“You’re telling me.” Carmelita muttered.

Aiming quickly, Carmelita shot the missile right out of the sky, seconds before it struck. She then turned back to the bridge, shooting at the second support. By now, one of the large trucks was driving across the bridge. Time was running out. The second support gave out, just barely in time for Carmelita to take out about three missiles trying to shoot them down.

“One more support beam and Harleen will be scrounging for her supplied at the bottom of the canal.” Carmelita said with a smirk.

A missile nearly blindsided her, forcing her to return her attention to the task at hand. She shot another set of missiles out of the air, then jammed her fingers down on the trigger buttons to destroy the third and final support.

There was a mighty rumbling noise as the bridge gave way, cracking and splintering underneath the unsupported weight of the convoy. With a mighty crash, the bridge split, sending the remains, as well as the entire convoy, crashing down into the canal. The destruction of the bridge also took down the automated missile launchers, another bonus.

“Nice shooting Carmelita.” Sly told her. “I guess all those years of shooting at me really paid off.”

“What did I say about getting a swell head ring-tail?” Carmelita playfully shot back.

Off in the distance, an alarm began blaring. Looking in the direction of the alarm, both Carmelita and Marcus could make out spotlights and the sound of men marching towards their position.

“Time to punch it, Marcus.” Sandra called. “Harleen and her troops are on their way.”

Marcus quickly lowered the turret, allowing Carmelita to climb back into the RV and into the passenger seat. The RV disappeared just as Harleen and her men arrived at the cliff side. They all stood in absolute shock, staring down at the wreckage of the bridge and the convoy.

“What happened here?!” Harleen demanded.

The soldiers, including Murray (now dressed in a camo shirt with a tan scarf and an army cap on top of his mask) all looked down at the wreckage.

“The bridge appears to have given way, General.” One of the soldiers suggested. “I guess with all the convoys you’ve been demanding, the bridge couldn’t handle all the constant weight.”

Harleen wasn’t convinced. Her mechanical eye seemed to examine the bridge in great detail, an action that set Murray on edge. Acting fast, he stepped forward.

“If I may, General.” He said. “Perhaps we should attempt to salvage what supplied we can from the wreckage.”

Harleen looked over at him, a strange glint in her normal eye. After a minute, she gave a nod.

“An excellent idea.” She replied. “Men, get the climbing equipment. We’re going down.”

…..

When Carmelita and Marcus returned to the safe house, Benjy and Bentley quickly got down to business. Sly and Sandra were waiting in the wings, ready for their turn out on the field, and Bentley and Benjy were more than ready to send them.

“Alright Sandy,” Benjy announced. “Now’s ya best chance ta bug Harleen’s office.”

“According to Murray, most of the soldiers are down in the canal, along with the General herself.” Bentley explained. “This may be your one opening to get into Harleen’s office undetected.”

“Leave it to us, guys.” Sly assured them.

Sandra checked the piston on her cane, grinning when it worked smoothly, then turned back to Benjy and Bentley.

“You got the bug for us?” she asked.

One of Bentley’s mechanical hands quickly produced a rolled up piece of paper. Having been with Bentley since childhood, Sly quickly recognized it as one of his forged drawings.

“Harleen has a large drawing of Africa hanging above her desk. Replace that one with this one, and we’ll have our ear on the inside.”

Sly took the drawing, slipping it into his backpack as Sandra opened the window for him.

“Let’s get moving.” She told him. “This war monger won’t thwart herself.”

Sly and Sandra shared a small grin, then they both dove out the window.

…..

Slipping through the tunnel once more, the two coopers were pleased to see that, like Murray had promised, most of the soldiers were gone. However, a few were still milling about and there were a pair of them in front of each building.

“Looks like the direct approach is out of the question.” Sandra remarked.

“Never was one for the easy route.” Sly quipped.

“Yet another thing I inherited.” Sandra replied, pointing. “That building over there should be the General’s private office/barracks.”

Sly pulled out his binoc-u-cam and turned it towards the building Sandra was pointing at, a large building with a second story that had what appeared to be a balcony allowing for full view of the compound.

“I think you’re right.” Sly told her. “And I think I found our point of entry.”

Sandra pulled out her binoc-u-cam and took a look.

“Balcony looks like our best bet, but how to get over there…”

“The only way a thief knows how.” Sly told her.

The two of them smirked, then spoke at the same time.

“Rooftops.”

There was a building next to the drain with a pipe perfect for climbing. Taking their canes in their mouths, they began climbing up the roof, jumping when they reached the top and taking their canes in hand once more. They ran across the rooftops as silently as possible, dodging spotlights and any soldier who may have been smart enough to look up (luckily, they weren’t). Soon, they were close to the General’s office and Sandra readied her cane.

“Ready for another ride on Air Cooper?” she asked.

Sly just smiled, taking hold of her cane.

“Ready for lift-off.” He smirked.

Sandra thumbed the circle button and they shot up. Once they were high enough, Sly pulled out his paraglider, one hand still holding tight to Sandra’s cane as well as his own. They landed right on the railing of the balcony, just as planned. Of course, the door was locked, which was not part of the plan.

“We need the key…” Sly muttered.

“No we don’t.” Sandra replied. “Just watch.”

She pulled her hat off and reached inside, pulling out a lock picking kit. She bent down and began working away at the lock.

“Why go through the work of picking the lock when you can pickpocket the key?” Sly asked.

“Why go through the work of pickpocketing the key when you can pick the lock?” Sandra countered.

There was a barely audible click as Sandra grinned.

“I’m in.”

She stowed her lock picks away in her hat once more, then slowly opened the door. Almost immediately, the two thieves were greeted by an entire array of floor sensors and deadly lasers.

“Yikes…” The two of them hissed.

Sly then tapped Sandra on the shoulder, gesturing up with his cane. There were visible rafters holding the roof up, perfect for traversing. He laced his fingers together, hunching down so Sandra could step on his hand. He sent her flying up, where she hooked onto the rafters with her cane. Once she was fully on the thick rafter, she lowered her cane so Sly could hook on and get pulled up.

“This appears to be her personal quarters…” Sandra whispered, looking around at the sparse living arrangement.

“Then her office must be downstairs.” Sly hypothesized.

Across the room, they could vaguely make out the path downstairs, slightly illuminated by the light of the lasers. Walking as quickly, and as carefully, as they could, the two Coopers made their way across the room via rafters. As they walked, Sandra’s foot landed a bit too close to the edge and she slipped.

“YIPE!!” she squealed.

Seconds before she could fall, Sly’s cane snagged one of the belt loops on her pants, saving her from plummeting to a fiery doom. He pulled her back to the safety of the rafters, where she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Too close…” Sandra muttered.

“Agreed.” Sly muttered back. “Let’s try and be a bit more careful.”

Now moving at a bit of a slower pace, they finally made it to the rafter just above the stairwell. Looking down, they were slightly surprised to see the steps rigged with lasers too. These ones, however, only protected every other step, and switched steps every five seconds.

“Okay… now she’s just being paranoid.” Sandra whispered.

“Means more fun for us.” Sly said with a smirk.

Sandra and Sly shared a grin, then looked down at the stairs. There were 15 of them, and even from their angle, they could see more lasers across the bottom floor. Luckily, there appeared to be a platform with General Shyre’s desk within jumping distance.

“We’ll need to time this just right if we’re gonna do this.” Sly commented.

“Then let’s do this.”

The steps switched, clearing the top step. The two Coopers quickly jumped down onto it. They jumped to the third step, then the fifth.

“Switch!” Sly hissed

They jumped to the sixth step just as the lasers switched. The eighth and tenth steps were just in reach before the next five seconds were up.

“Switch!” Sandra hissed.

They made it to the eleventh step, then thirteenth, and finally, the fifteenth. They looked at each other, then held hands.

“Jump!” The both shouted.

They jumped for the platform the lasers activated on the step. They landed right on the edge, Sandra diving forward to maintain balance while Sly ended up waving his arms trying to keep his. Sandra quickly aided him, her cane snagging him across the waist and pulling him to safety. Sly steadied himself, looking down at the lasers, then over at the stairs.

“Is it just me, or are we having way too many close calls on this mission?” he questioned.

“Harleen’s paranoid and it’s making our job harder.” Sandra replied. “It only makes sense that it would make our job harder.”

They then focused back on the mission and were happy to see the picture they needed hanging right next to them. Sly took down the frame and removed the original drawing as Sandra pulled the bugged forgery out of her bag and replaced it.

“I wonder how much this drawing will go for on Thiefnet….” Sandra mused as she took the original drawing from Sly. “A couple hundred coin?”

Sly didn’t answer her question, his gaze fixated on a large safe just on the other end of the room, also on a raised platform safe from the lasers. Sandra turned and stood next to him.

“You know…” she muttered. “We are on a bit of a time crunch.”

“And we are trying to keep our actions from being noticed.” Sly added.

“Not to mention the fact that Harleen and her men are due back any minute now.” Sandra finished.

The two thieves looked at each other, then they both grinned. Taking a few steps back, they jumped towards the safe, landing safely on the other platform. Sandra went for the safe while Sly examined a pin pad that was over by the door.

“Hey Bentley, see if you can figure out what this pin pad does.” Sly requested.

“Benjy, you get me a combo for this safe.”

“On it!” The two genii replied.

In the back ground, Sly and Sandra could hear the furious typing as Benjy and Bentley completed their various tasks. Benjy finished his first.

“Alright…” he finally said. “I think I go’ it. De combo o’ de safe should be 7-3-6.”

Sandra quickly inputted the combo and opened the safe. Inside was a large amount of coin, not to mention a few small African treasures, but most importantly, hard copies of the blueprints of the entire base.

“Gold mine!” Sandra cheered, then clapped a hand over her mouth. She spoke again in a whisper. “I mean… Gold mine.”

Bentley finished his part and spoke.

“You’re in luck Sly. According to the system, it’s the pad for the laser system.  From here, I should be able to provide you with the code that will deactivate the lasers so you guys can get out of there.”

“Question is, can you turn them back on?” Sly asked. “We can’t let Harleen know we’ve been here.”

“Says the thief who is helping his fellow thief empty out the contents of a secure vault.”

Sandra and Sly, who were in the process of shoveling as much loot as they could into backpacks and satchel bags, didn’t bother to defend themselves. With a sigh, Bentley continued.

“I can rig the system to shut down the lasers only temporarily, you’ll only have about a 30 second window, so once I give you the code, input it fast, then run like crazy.”

“Lay it on me.” Sly said, closing his backpack.

“The code is 5-4-5.”

Sandra finished loading the last of the loot, slipping one of her markers out of her pocket and placing it in the empty safe. She closed it, then turned to Sly, giving him a nod. Sly inputted the code, and almost immediately, the lasers deactivated. The thieves bolted, taking the stairs 2 at a time, then running for the balcony door. They dove through it and shut the door mere seconds before the lasers came on.

“We did it.” They said with a smile, then clasping each other’s hands in celebration.

“Great job!” Marcus announced. “Now you guys get back here. It’s almost dawn and we’re gonna need all of us bright eyed and bushy tailed for tomorrow.”

“Right.” Sandra replied. “On our way.”

She turned to Sly and smirked.

“Not bad for our first field mission together.” She remarked.

“What about the job back in Paris?” Sly asked.

“That was reconnaissance. This was different, and much for fun.” Sandra replied.

Sly chuckled in agreement and the two made their way back to the safe house for some much needed rest.


	10. Operation: Ceasefire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its finally time to bring down Harleen. The gang prepares for the assault on the base, all of them itching to bring down the egomaniac. However, Harleen's gotten wise to their activities, and won't go down without a fight. A boss fight!

Sly and Sandra returned to the safe house, where the two promptly went to go and get some sleep. The rest of the gang was quick to join them, each gang member join up with their respective Cooper. However, Carmelita didn’t join them. Instead, she sat down by one of the windows of the safe house, staring out at the rising sun.

For perhaps the first time since this whole adventure started, she finally had a bit of time to herself, time to come to terms with everything that was going on. Looking down, her fingers brushed against the badge hanging around her neck. It was something she never took off, not even when undercover, and with very good reason.

The badge belonged to her late father, an INTERPOL officer who died when she was 12. He had been killed in the line of duty trying to bring down a smuggling ring. Carmelita had been left to be raised by her grandmother, her mother having died long before she could remember, with only her father’s old badge to remind her of him. He was the reason she became an INTERPOL officer, and why she doggedly pursued criminals like Sly and Sandra.

As she looked over at the five Cooper Gang members sleeping so peacefully, she began to wonder if she was doing the right thing by helping them. It was true that she had worked with Sly in the past, but those had been temporary truces in order to stop a much more dangerous threat. Not to mention, once the danger past, she would return to her duties and try to arrest him.

So when did things change?

When did she stop seeing Sly as a criminal and more as an ally? When did her views of justice change to where some of Sly’s actions could be seen as ‘doing the right thing’? When did crime stop being so black and white?

Looking across the room at the sleeping Sly, she knew exactly when. Kaine Island. Everything had changed the second she rounded that reef. She had finally figured out Sly was working on gathering a team for a much bigger job, and some research into the archive files revealed the only possible target: The Cooper Family Vault on Kaine Island. It had taken weeks to gather the necessary manpower and get security clearance to go down there, but she had been determined that Kaine Island would be Sly’s last stand.

However, the second she saw Sly in the hands of that monster in obvious excruciating pain, her mission changed. She was there to save Sly. She charged on the monster and even focused more on keeping Dr. M at bay rather than catching Sly. In fact, Dr. M had been her target when she had barged into the Cooper Vault. When she had laid eyes on Sly, the only thought she had was “Thank God he’s alive.”

Then Dr. M tried to blast her and Sly took the shot for her. Carmelita could still remember how the entire world seemed to slow down in that moment, and a wave of red anger had washed over her. She let loose on Dr. M, tears blurring her vision as she cried, “Nobody hurts my criminal.”

Her criminal… Never was there a statement with more meanings than you could find in a dictionary. Sly had been her Moriarty since the day they met on the Paris Opera House Rooftop, but he had become more than that. He treated her like a lady, always willing to lend a hand no matter the personal consequences, and even risked getting arrested just to ensure her safety. He’d even been willing to go to jail not just to protect his friend, but give her back her standing at INTERPOL.

With Sly’s sacrifice to protect her, it had made Carmelite realize that all that flirty chit chat, all those little notes, and his general attitude towards her, it wasn’t just an act. He truly cared. He may have been a Master Thief wanted in just about every country by both criminals and law enforcement alike, but he had a kind heart that some of her fellow officers didn’t have.

Perhaps that was why she had created Constable Cooper, so she could love him without their professional differences getting in the way. Perhaps that was also why she had agreed to help Sandra and her friends. Here in the future, she wasn’t Inspector Fox of INTERPOL. She was just Carmelita. She didn’t have to worry about her status as a police officer getting in the way. But once they returned to the present, things would go back to the way they were.

But was that really what she wanted?

Could she be content with chasing Sly once more? For that matter, would she be able to chase him? After everything they’ve been through together, could she really just forget it all and go back to normal? She had tried that after Sly had dropped the amnesia ruse, and all it did was make her feel like the bad guy, especially after Sly vanished.

A rustle of movement caused her to jump, her hand instinctively going for her holster. She turned to see Sandra rolling over slightly, lifting her head sleepily.

“Carmelita…?” she mumbled. “What are you doing still awake?”

Carmelita took her hand away from her pistol and turned back to the window.

“I was thinking…” she replied.

Sandra slowly dislodged herself from her friends and walked over.

“About what?” she asked.

Carmelita turned once more, facing the red raccoon.

“Sly…” she admitted. “And what I’m going to do when all of this is over… I don’t know if I could just go back to being Inspector Fox.”

“Then don’t.” Sandra replied.

Carmelita blinked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“Don’t go back to being Inspector Fox.” Sandra told her. “Be Carmelita.”

“But being Inspector Fox is all I’ve ever known…” Carmelita explained. “INTERPOL has been my life for so long.”

“But tell me something… were you being Inspector Fox when you saved Sly on Kaine Island?”

“No…”

“Were you being Inspector Fox when you created Constable Cooper?”

“No.”

“Were you being Inspector Fox when you agreed to help me save Sly?”

“No.”

“Were you being Inspector Fox when you agreed to help me save my friends?”

“No.”

Sandra smirked.

“It seems to me that for quite a while now, you haven’t been Inspector Fox. Every choice you’ve made, you made as Carmelita. You chose to do what you believed was the right thing to do, not because of some regulations or rules or laws, but because of what you personally believed.”

Carmelita blinked in surprise once more, realizing the truth behind Sandra’s words. Sandra stood up and walked back over to her friends.

“And just between you and me, I think I like Carmelita much more than Inspector Fox.”

Marcus let out a yawn, his arm coming out and catching Sandra around the waist. She allowed the bear to pull her down, curling up in his grasp as she let out a yawn of her own.

“Get some sleep Carmelita.” She said softly, closing her eyes. “We’re gonna need you for tomorrow.”

Carmelita just smiled slightly, shaking her head. Sandra was right. She would be needed for tomorrow. Besides, when the time did come for them to return to the present, Carmelita would make her choice. She walked over to where Sly was resting, tiptoeing past where Bentley had parked his wheelchair for the night. She rested her head on Sly’s shoulders, slowly nodding off, unaware of Sly smiling at her and wrapping his arm around her.

…..

The next night came all too soon and everyone quickly gathered around the table in the safe house, eager to bring down Harleen once and for all. Bentley and Benjy put together their presentation, and addressed the rest of the gang.

“Alright guys,” Bentley started. “With everything in place, it’s time for us to get down to business.”

“Bentley an’ I have bin goin’ ova de chattah collected from de bug in Harleen’s office.” Benjy explained. “Unfortunately, she’s gotten wise ta ar plan. She’s reinforced de drain an is doublin’ patrols. If we wanna strike, we’re gonna hafta do it now.”

“We call this plan, Operation: Ceasefire.” Bentley added. “To start off, Benjy and I are gonna hack the system again, taking down the power to the entire operation. This will bring down not only the automated defenses, but the electrical barrier on the fence.”

“Once dat’s done, Marcus, ya gotta ram de gate wit’ de RV before the back-up generators kick in. Once we’re in, y’all meet up wit Murray and git de guards’ attention with fists.”

“Carmelita, you’ll be manning the turret, taking out their air defenses. With all the manpower directed at you guys, it’ll be up to Sly and Sandra for the next part.”

“De ammunition bunker an de storage house need ta come down, and the rest of the base wit it. Luckily, de weapons in de ammunition bunker will be just what we need.”

“Sly, you and Sandra will break into the bunker and gather up as many explosives as you can. Then, you’ll split up and I will walk you through where to put them around the base.”

“Once de bombs ar’ placed, pile back inna de RV, then hightail it as we blow de place sky high!”

“Sounds like a solid plan guys.” Sandra complimented.

“Agreed.” Sly added. “It’s time for Harleen to go down.”

They all put their hands in and smiled.

“When we’re through with her, she’s gonna wish she’d never even heard of the Cooper gang.” Marcus stated.

…..

Benjy and Bentley began hacking away at Harleen’s security system the second everyone was loaded into the RV. Once again, Harleen’s computer security almost immediately began trying to get rid of them. It was much more advanced than before, almost proving Benjy’s earlier claim of Harleen catching onto them.

“Looks like Harleen’s not gonna make this easy on us.” Bentley hypothesized.

“Good.” Benjy replied. “I like a challenge!”

The two made their way deeper and deeper into the codebase, their avatars making short work of some of the minor firewalls. Not long after that, the firewalls became more numerous and their encoded protection much stronger.

“Okay, maybe I spoke too soon.” Benjy reiterated.

Pretty soon the two genii found themselves with their avatars back to back, trying to keep the protection software at bay. They were coming from all sides, almost as if soldiers in war.

This analogy quickly brought things into perspective for the two of them.

“Harleen!” Bentley shrieked. “She must be a coder too!”

“She must be fightin’ us from er side!” Benjy added. “Shoulda known she’d be keepin’ an eye on de system afta discoverin’ us.”

As they delved deeper, it became clear that she had done more than arrange her protection software to ward them off. She’d even created a defense avatar to defend the CPU! It looked similar to the original Harleen, only much bigger, and with menacing looking machine guns that fired deletion codes.

“Unauthorized code detected.” The avatar declared. “Initiating defensive procedures.”

Both Bentley and Benjy’s avatar’s took cover, desperate to dodge the onslaught of malicious code determined to delete them.

“You will not succeed.” The avatar taunted. “Prepare for your ultimate deletion.”

Benjy and Bentley’s avatars exchanged looks of worry, but quickly steeled themselves. They had both dealt with cyber enemies before, and they had always come out on top. This time would be no different.

“I’ll hit ‘er low.” Benjy said.

“And I’ll hit her high.” Bentley replied.

The avatars nodded, then came out into the open, avoiding the sprays of deletion code sent out by Harleen’s. Benjy’s dove for her legs, letting off kicks and jabs that were aided by his avatar’s energy blasts. Harleen’s avatar howled in annoyance and went to shoot the koala, but her gun was reduced to 1’s and 0’s by Bentley’s own guns. Turning towards the turtle, she was greeted by a round of rapid fire aimed right at her head.

Her code was obviously well done, because it took several more shots and a few more attacks from Benjy to finally reduce the avatar to random bits of code. The two genii high fived each other, both in real life, and in the cyber realm.

“We did it!” Bentley cried happily.

“We ain’t done yet, mate.” Benjy reminded him. “Let’s kill da powah before Harleen makes anothah avatar.”

They dove into the CPU, quickly locating the feed for the power of the entire military base. Without further ado, they sent out a home-made virus into the system, one that immediately began eating away at the core code. Within minutes, the feed was destroyed that the military base was plunged into darkness.

“And that’s the way the codebase crumbles.” Bentley remarked with a smile.

…..

Out in the RV, Marcus watched all of the lights die all across the base. A grin came onto his face as he turned to Carmelita in the passenger seat.

“Ready?” he asked.

Carmelita grinned, buckling her seatbelt.

“Ready.”

Marcus turned towards the back of the RV, where Sandra and Sly were sitting, also buckling their seatbelts.

“Ready big guy.” Sandra called. “Punch it!”

Not needing to be told twice, Marcus’ foot floored the gas and the RV went flying down the street. Not even thinking about slowing down, Marcus activated the battering ram on the front of the RV and grinned.

“HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE’S MARCUS!!!!!”

They went smashing through the gate, bringing it down with a loud crash just as the back-up generators kicked in. The newly relit spotlights quickly trained on the RV and the alarms began blaring. Marcus braked hard, skidding to a stop to allow Carmelita to unbuckle and take position on the turret. He then jumped out of the driver’s seat and got into a fighting stance.

“HEY THERE YOU FLEA-BITTEN EXCUSES FOR SOLDIERS!! COME AND GET A TASTE OF SOME OLD FASHION STREET FIGHTING PUGILISM!!”

All around them, the gang could make out the silhouettes of multiple hyenas and hippos as they converged. Leaping from their posts along the fences as well as from around the base itself, they all went to attack the group. However, one hippo branched away from the group, joining in with the intruders.

“Need a hand, pal?” Murray asked, tossing away his camo hat.

“An extra pair of fists wouldn’t help.” Marcus replied.

Together, the two strongmen ran into the fray, fists and claws flying in a frenzy of fur. Amidst the chaos, Carmelita took aim with the turret, aiming at the multiple guns that were still attempting to come online. With bursts of rapid-fire, she quickly took them out before they had a chance to fire down upon her allies.

“Take that you _cobardes criminales_!”

With the sky cleared and Marcus and Murray dealing with the ground troops, Sly and Sandra seized the opportunity to slink out of the RV. They couldn’t risk being seen, especially with the entire mission relying on them getting into the armory. Luckily, everyone seemed to be focused on the three attackers that they didn’t notice when two raccoon figures slipped through a hidden trap door beneath the van.

“How are we gonna get to the Armory?” Sandra asked.

Sly just smirked, then gestured towards a group of army trucks that were spread sporadically around the camp, having been abandoned by their drivers when the RV had come crashing through. They were within easy running distance, and if they timed their dashes right, the two coopers could easily make it across without arousing suspicion.

“One truck at a time.” Sly replied.

The two quickly ran out from under the RV, diving under the nearest truck seconds before a hyena was sent flying their way. A quick survey revealed they had about four trucks between them and the armory’s main door, which were unguarded thanks to the attack.

A few more well timed dives brought Sly and Sandra right up to the doors of the armory. Unfortunately, their luck ran afoul when the door was shown to be locked, and there was no time for Sandra to pick the lock.

“We need that key.” Sandra groaned. “But who has it?”

Sly turned towards the fray, where a large pile of unconscious hippos and Hyenas were beginning to form. He pulled out his binoc-u-cam and focused on the pile. He searched the guards as best he could until he spotted what he needed, protruding from one of the hippo’s pockets.

“I see it.” He declared. “Stay here. I’ll go get it.”

Forgoing stealth in favor of speed, Sly leapt towards the pile, pulling the key out of the hippo’s pocket with his cane. With a deft toss, he sent it flying into Sandra’s waiting hands and by the time he returned to her side, she had the door unlocked and was ready for action.

“Time to blow this Popsicle stand to smithereens.” Sly remarked at they made their way inside.

…..

The armory was larger than either raccoon had anticipated. More than that, it was chocked full of more weapons and incendiary devices than either of them believed possible. Benjy and Bentley, who were watching the two from the camera feature on the binoc-u-cam, stared in awe at the spectacle.

“I’ve seen entire countries with less stock.” Bentley gasped.

“Let’s just hope tha’ Harleen’s got some Octanitrocubane in dis here stash.”

Both Sly and Sandra paused, looking utterly confused. Bentley just sighed.

“He means ONC guys.”

Sandra recognized the acronym, though Sly still seemed a bit confused.

“Umm, can somebody please explain what ONC is?”

“Basically, TNT on serious steroids.” Sandra replied. “Just keep a lookout for anything that seems out of place to you.”

“Right. Sandra, you go left, I’ll check the right.”

“You got it Sly.”

The two spread out, pulling the lids off of multiple crates until Sandra opened one, revealing a large case of strange orange-gold crystals that seemed to have an ethereal glow to them. Sandra instinctively knew these crystals were what they were looking for.

“Sly!” she called. “I found them!”

Sly came over, his eyes widening at the sight of the crystals. He reached for one, his mind already trying to figure out how much these crystals would go for on Thiefnet. However, Sandra quickly slapped his hand.

“Don’t. Touch.” She said with a worried tone. “Remember what I said? TNT. On. SERIOUS!!! Steroids.”

Sly pulled his hand back, looking at the crystals some more.

“These crystals are your ONC things?”

“Don’t be fooled by der purty exterior, Sly.” Benjy told him. “Dere very dangerous.”

“Luckily, they’re also quite stable, for an explosive compound.” Bentley added. “In order to trigger the explosion, the ONC requires a sonic frequency trigger.”

“Sound bombs.” Sandra reiterated.

“Exactly.” Benjy replied. “Look around an’ find dat trigger. Without it, dem crystals ar’ useless.”

Luckily, the trigger was easy to find. It was sealed in a crate close to the store of ONC crystals. Sandra grabbed it while Sly loaded up several of the orange crystals into his backpack.

“I’ve got the trigger.” Sandra announced. “Ready when you are, Old Man.”

Sly stopped, turning to Sandra with a cheeky grin.

“I told you I was going to make you eat those words, ‘Sandy’.” He retorted.

Sandra grinned.

“Oh yeah?” she asked. “And how are you gonna do that?”

Sly took a handful of the ONC, handing it to Sandra.

“A race.” He stated. “You and me, around the base. Whomever makes it through their half, while successfully planting the crystals, wins.”

Sandra snatched up the crystals, stuffing them in her bag.

“And what happens to the loser?” she asked.

Sly’s eyes twinkled mischievously.

“The loser has to do Murray’s laundry when we return to Paris.”

Sandra winced, already imagining the amount of junk food stains that adorned the hippo’s shirt and scarf. Still, she was a Cooper, and she was not about to back down from a challenge, especially one from her Great-Great-Grandfather.

“You’re on.” She told him, pulling her hat down in determination.

The two Coopers approached the doors, both of them getting into sprinting positions. Outside, they could hear the continuing assault, though from the sound of it, it seemed to be dying down somewhat. Harleen was running out of soldiers.

“On your mark…” Sly said.

“Get set…” Sandra chimed in.

They both hesitated a second, looked at each other, then grinned widely.

“GO!!” The shouted in unison.

The doors went flying open and the Coopers went running.

…..

Marcus, Murray, and Carmelita had been fighting for what felt like hours with seemingly no end to the incoming soldiers. However, luck was on their side, for it soon became clear that Harleen was truly starting to run out of men.

“We’ve got them on the ropes, guys!” Marcus shouted.

“Soon they will all feel the crushing pain of defeat!” Murray exclaimed happily.

Carmelita remained on her turret, her cop instincts telling her that something wasn’t right here. Throughout this entire assault, Harleen had not shown herself, which made the fox uneasy. She became eager to get off the base as quickly as possible, and yet Sly and Sandra had not yet returned from their part of the job.

“Where are those two…?” She muttered, then she looked down towards Murray and Marcus. “Either of you two see Sly or Sandra?”

“Not yet.” Marcus replied.

“What’s taking them so long?” Carmelita wondered aloud.

“Don’t worry, Carmelita!” Murray bellowed. “We have this mission in the bag! Everything will be just fine!”

Carmelita winced at Murray’s words, almost positive the hippo had just jinxed them. Her fears were slightly quieted when she spotted Sly’s silhouette darting through the camp towards the RV. He slid in front of the RV, a triumphant smile on his face.

“And I am the winner.” He declared, giving a large bow.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Carmelita couldn’t help but raise a questioning eyebrow.

“Winner?” She asked.

“He and Sandra held a race to see who could plant the bombs fastest.” Bentley replied with a slightly weary note to his voice.

“Well, she shouldn’t have called me ‘Old man’, then she wouldn’t be currently eating my dust.” Sly replied, then he looked around. “Although, she’s taking much longer than I had expected.”

A sinking feeling began to settle in everyone’s stomachs, especially when Marcus noted that the soldiers had ceased their attempts at attacking the group.

“Guys… why aren’t they attacking us?” Marcus asked.

Looking around, the soldiers who were still conscious had formed a perimeter around the group, cutting off their escape. Murray and Marcus quickly got back into fighting positions, Sly gripped his cane and Carmelita readied the turret.

“We need to clear the path.” Sly announced. “Once it’s clear, we find Sandra and-”

“And you will do nothing.”

Everyone froze as the soldiers parted ways, revealing General Harleen in all her terrifying glory. In one hand she held a large scimitar, and in the other, she held Sandra, the blade directly beneath the girl’s chin.

“SANDRA!!!” Everybody screamed.

“She caught me off guard…” Sandra said quietly, her eyes never leaving the blade’s deadly edge.

Harleen’s metal eye seemed to scan the group, a sadistically cruel grin spreading across her face.

“So… This is the infamous Sly Cooper.” She snarled. “I must admit, you are a most-" She rotated her hand while still gripping the scimitar, the blade rolling in her paw as if she wasn’t holding anything at all. "-unorthodox adversary. But this is no matter. If you want the girl to live longer than the next few seconds, you will call off your brutes and bring your shooter down from the gun."

Murray and Marcus both reluctantly lowered their fists and Carmelita deftly jumped from the turret, landing softly beside Sly. Harleen smirked at their compliance.

“Excellent.” She said with a malicious undertone. “It appears that even the notorious Cooper Clan can recognize their superior, despite centuries of ignorance and stupidity.”

"You speak of our family like you know us." Sly retorted. “And yet, I don’t recall any egomaniac lions in my family history.”

A few of the hyena soldiers snickered at Sly’s witty comeback, earning them a harsh glare from Harleen. Sly noticed this and a plan quickly formed in his head.

He turned his attention back to Harleen as she dragged the blade in a dull fashion away from Sandra's throat and pointed it towards Sly in an obviously threatening gesture.

"Do not test me, Cooper." She snarled, a feral growl rising from her very core. “I will not hesitate to kill you, Sandra, or any of your little friends.”

Sly put on his best irritating grin, crossing his arms and facing Harleen.

“And yet, here you stand, hiding behind my granddaughter rather than actually fighting us.”

More snickering and even a few outright laughs came from the hyenas, further irritating the lioness. Harleen’s eyes gained a feral edge and another growl bubbled in her throat.

“What’s the matter?” Sly asked. “Cat got your tongue?”

The dam of laughter burst and nearly all of the soldiers were reduced to quivering masses of laughter and giggles. Sandra took advantage of the situation and brought her boot down hard on Harleen’s foot. The lioness howled in pain, further egging on the hyena’s laughter, as Sandra dove towards Sly and away from the deadly grip of Harleen.

“You know, for a supposedly Highly Decorated general, she doesn’t have much control over her men.” Sandra quipped.

Sly shrugged.

“Perhaps she isn’t worthy of the rank of General.”

Harleen looked back at her howling men, and the hyenas looked at her. Their laughter died away, giving way to a crippling fear. They knew that if she succeeded with destroying the Cooper Gangs, it would be their turn to die. With her men sufficiently cowed, Harleen focused her attention back on Sly and Sandra.

"I believe it is time to show you just who it is you’re dealing with, you weak, pathetic trash pandas!"

She bared her teeth and drew the second sword. The blade sang as it slid from its sheath, followed by a loud clang as Harleen struck the two blades together. There was a loud crack as the blades began to glow. Lightning danced across their edges as Harleen began stalking slowly forward.

"It is time to show all of you why the old bird hired me, and not some two bit stooge."

Harleen approached the two Coopers, who instinctively took a step back to avoid the deadly, electrified blades.

"Well this is a shocking turn of events." Sly joked, albeit, nervously.

"Thanks for stealing my line, Old Man." Sandra mocked.

Harleen snarled at them.

"Enough with your jokes. It is time for you to fight me, and die trying."

The lioness ran towards them, her blades sparking and creating large jagged marks in the dirt. She went to bring them down on the Coopers, but the raccoons quickly countered, bringing up their canes in defense. There was a loud clang as the weapons clashed, Harleen trying to force her entire weight into the attack. Against a single opponent, Harleen would barely have had to put up a fight. However, now she was fighting two opponents, both with a lot to lose should they fail.

Sly and Sandra both pushed as hard as they could, forcing Harleen back. She stumbled back a single step, then went to slash at them. A timely jump from Sly and a duck from Sandra prevented them from getting sliced. Sly then maneuvered his cane to where he hooked onto Harleen’s neck.

"Looks like she's a fighter!” He taunted as he tried to force Harleen off balance. “Time to reel her-"

Harleen roared and twisted her body, freeing her neck from the grip of Sly’s cane. She then twirled her scimitars, bringing them both in for a disarming maneuver. Within seconds, Sly’s cane was wrenched from his grasp and into Harleen’s waiting claw while Sly himself was sent flying into Sandra with a quick kick.

“Did you honestly think it would be that easy?” Harleen jeered.

 Sly and Sandra quickly picked themselves up as Harleen spun Sly’s cane in her hand before throwing it aside.

"Time to get serious, Coopers.” Harleen threatened. “Or perhaps I should kill your precious comrades first. Maybe then you’ll put up a decent fight."

Sandra gripped her cane, gesturing over to Sly’s cane with her chin.

"Go get your cane." She whispered, "I'll hold her off."

Sandra spun her cane in her hand as Sly leapt to the side. Harleen saw this, her robotic eye focusing on the two of them. She smirked and focused her attention on Sandra as she attempted a second lunge. This time, Harleen swung her blades first, determined to catch the raccoon. Sandra smiled, knowing exactly how do deal with the attack. She pointed the butt of her staff towards Harleen, jamming her finger on the button. The pole connected hard with Harleen’s stomach, causing the lioness to double over in pain.

"How’s that for getting serious?" Sandra taunted, planting her cane.

Harleen quickly recovered from the blow, swiping her blade at Sandra. While she missed the girl, she connected with the cane. It twisted and the point of the scimitar successfully pressed the circle button.

"No no no!” Sandra panicked “Not the-"

The cane’s piston feature activated again, sending both her and her cane flying. She landed hard against a wall while the cane embedding itself hard into said wall. Harleen smiled, straightening up and flexing her fingers around the handles of her scimitars.

“One down, one to go.”

She began to move towards Sly who was still trying to locate his cane. He finally found it under one of the many scattered trucks he and Sandra had used for cover not too long ago. He got on his hands and knees, reaching underneath the truck, trying desperately to get his cane back before Harleen got to him. He managed to grab it, and swing it just in time to intercept an attempted killing blow.

"Didn’t your mother ever teach you it’s not nice to attack from behind?" He taunted.

Sly pulled his staff towards him and turned around quickly, pulling the scimitars out of Harleen’s grip. She snarled and swiped a claw, only to get a face full of cane. Harleen grabbed the cane before Sly could pull it back, swinging it through the air and forcing Sly to let go of it or risk ending up like Sandra. He landed on top of one of the buildings, looking down in annoyance.

"Ah man!" He shouted, "I just got that back!"

Harleen smirked.

"Oh I’m sorry…” She replied sarcastically, “I guess you can have it back!"

She threw it like a javelin, and Sly quickly leapt up, spinning in the air to catch his cane. He grinned as he used his momentum to bring the cane crashing down onto Harleen’s face, smacking her right in the metal eye.

The red glass cracked and sparks began to dance across the metal. Harleen herself howled in a combination of fury and agony, half of her vision reduced to static and the word "RECALIBRATING".

“You vile ingrate!!” She snarled, covering the sparking machinery with a single claw.

Sly dove for a patch of shadows, hiding from Harleen for the moment. As he hid, he could hear a low growl emanating from Harleen as she attempted to locate him. She was getting closer, and her eye was slowly finishing reorienting itself. When she was done, she slowly removed her hand from her eye, only to see the furry bottom of Sly's paw coming towards her face.

Across the base, Sandra was finally starting to come about, rubbing the back of her head with a groan. Looking up, she could see her cane. Unfortunately, it appeared to be stuck a high up in the wall of the building she had been leaning against. Turning back towards where she had been flung from, she could see Sly and Harleen going at it. She smirked, then stood up and dusted herself off.

"I think I’ve sat out long enough." She mumbled to herself.

Sandra flipped on top of a truck, then spring boarded from there onto the roof. She reached over the edge and took hold of her cane. With a mighty pull, she began tugging at her cane, but it wouldn't budge. She pulled unsuccessfully a few more times before crossing her arms, looking at it with a bit of anger.

"Oh, not this again!"

Back in the battle, Sly's foot met with Harleen's face and she stumbled back. Sly planted the staff into the ground, sparing a moment to glance over at Sandra. When he saw her futile struggles with pulling her cane free, he knew she wouldn't be joining for a while.

Harleen's blade met with Sly's cane, drawing him back into the fight. Both blades collided with the staff, but this time, the electricity from Harleen’s scimitars danced up the cane and right through Sly’s body. He felt his fur explode outward, giving him that puff-ball look.

"Really?! I just got my fur the way I-" His foot came down and kicked Harleen in the face again "-LIKE IT!”

 Sandra continued to pull on the cane, the handle jarring and grinding as she attempted it. With each tug, she was getting more and more frustrated.

"Come on you stupid thing!” She screamed. “Get out of the ground! I need you to hit Harleen!"

She brought her foot down on the cane, the heel of her boot connecting with the button. Realizing what was about to happen, Sandra pulled herself back onto the roof seconds before her cane sprung from the wall. It flew across the base, right towards the fight. Harleen stumbled back from Sly's kick, looking towards him with renewed anger.

"FILTHY TRASH PANDA!” She screamed. “I WILL END-"

She never got the chance to finish her threat, for at that moment, Sandra’s runaway cane connected with her face, contorting it into a Picasso worthy scene. The glass of her robotic eye exploded outward, sending shards of red glass everywhere as she was sent flying across the base by the sheer momentum of the cane. She slid several feet before coming to a stop, the cane clattering to the ground in front of her.

“That works.” Sandra called happily.

She jumped off the roof, making her way over to her cane. As she picked it up, she could practically see the stars in Harleen’s eyes as she just kind of stood their dazed.

“Reinforce the right flank, sergeant…” she muttered like a drunkard.

Sly and Sandra both looked down at the lioness, then raised their canes. With two perfectly coordinated blows, they brought their canes down on Harleen’s head, knocking her out cold. The hyenas, whom had all been watching this battle in silence, all gasped as their leader fell.

“Anyone else wanna have a go?” Sandra asked.

“Or are you gonna do the smart thing and run before we blow this base sky high?” Sly added.’

The hyenas began scattering almost immediately. They vaulted over the fence, poured out through the gate, any escape route that was possible, they took it, leaving the Coopers alone with their friends.

“Great job you two!” Marcus congratulated them, grabbing Sandra into a big hug.

“Nice team work.” Murray added.

“Did you manage to plant all the bombs?” Carmelita asked.

Sandra smirked, fishing into her bag and pulling out the sonic trigger.

“You bet I did.” She said. “All we have to do is set this thing and we’re out of here.”

“Great job Sandra.” Sly told her, holding out a hand for a high five.

Sandra didn’t keep him hanging, returning the high five as everyone piled into the back of the RV.

“Time to get out of here.” She said.

…..

The RV drove off just as Sandra activated the sonic trigger. The ONC exploded with enough force to shake the road, a satisfying feeling for all present in the RV. As they escaped back towards the safe house and the original Cooper gang got into their van, Sandra could make out the lights of helicopters approaching the area.

“Looks like Garrett finally caught up.” Sandra remarked. “I hoped he likes my little gift.”

Inspector Garrett was at that moment organizing a fire brigade to put out the fires around the base, as well as a coordinated effort to round up all of the fleeing soldiers. However, when he spotted something strange over by one of the trees near the fort, he paused.

Harleen was leaning up against the tree trunk, a large bruise on the side of her face and two fair-sized bumps on her head. She was tied to the tree, buried under a pile of blueprints and strategic maps, and had a very familiar marker taped to her chest.

“Sandra…” he muttered as he pulled the marker off of Harleen.

On the back of the marker was a small note.

“1 down, 2 to go. Wish me luck! -XO”

Garrett looked out towards the village, where he could vaguely make out the silhouettes of two large vehicles taking flight, disappearing into the night sky.

“Sir!” one of the officers suddenly interrupted. “What are your orders?”

Garrett turned away from the village, reluctantly focusing on the task at hand.

“Get this woman booked immediately.” He ordered. “The charges, treason, murder, and conspiracy to commit mass murder.”

“Yes Sir!”

The officer walked off as Garrett looked down at the marker, just staring at it in thoughtful silence.

“2 to go, huh?” he muttered. “We’ll see about that.”


	11. Ice Cold Hatred

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Harleen defeated, it's time to move on to the next target: Boris Maximoff. Right off the bat, he proves to be a very cruel and heartless enemy, and when an unexpected factor gets thrown into the mix, the Cooper Gangs find that there mission will be more challenging than any of them expected.

About two weeks had passed since the Shakakane job. During this time, the two Cooper Gangs had been relaxing in Sandra’s train collage hideout outside Paris, enjoying some much needed downtime before going after their second target. It had been a tough sell for Carmelita, who had wanted to get straight back to work, but a few convincing words from Sly finally got Carmelita to relax.

At the moment, Sandra was racing through the old train yard, several different bags of supplies in her arms. Her boots bounced lightly through the soft earth, narrowly avoiding the old rusted metal of the tracks. She ducked behind an overturned car, looking both ways before tip-toeing forth towards another. She paused at the entrance, looking all around to ensure she hadn’t been followed. She was sure she hadn’t been, but a safe house was only safe if nobody knew about it. Once it was clear that she was alone, she approached the main doors of the large boxcar that served as a front entrance.

"I’m back!" She shouted, hooking the handle of the door with her foot. “And I’ve brought dinner and some arts and crafts supplies!”

She pulled the door open with a kick and was greeted by Marcus and Murray, who both quickly freed her from the burden of all the bags of food. Left with the ‘arts and crafts’ supplies, Sandra went in search of the resident genii. She walked through a few car before finally arriving at the caboose, the car that served as Benjy’s private lab.

“About time ya got back, Sandy.” Benjy said. “Bentley’s been waitin’ fer his supplies.”

Bentley, who was bent over a work table surrounded by bits and pieces of machinery, looked up and smiled as Sandra set down the large sack of parts.

“I got you what I could.” She told him. “I hope it’s enough.”

Bentley rummage through the bag and smiled.

“I should be able to make some serious improvements to my arsenal with this.” He told her.

Sandra smiled happily, then felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked over to see Benjy holding his small Thiefnet data-pad, his fingers dashing across it like a madman.

“What is it, Brainiac?” she asked.

“I’ve been going ovah de other two files from Garrett’s investigation, and I think I found ar next target.”

Sandra gave a small nod.

“I’ll get everyone together. We’ve been relaxing long enough. It’s time to get back to business.”

…..

The two gangs met in the dining car, Marcus and Murray still chowing down on the food Sandra had brought. Carmelita was cleaning her shock pistol, Sly was polishing his cane, and Bentley was still tinkering with some of the parts Sandra had brought. As Benjy began to try and present his findings, he found it hard over the idle conversations going on amongst the group. However, said conversations quickly ceased after Sandra let out a shrill whistle.

“HEY!!” she yelled. “This is serious. Benjy’s figured out our next target.”

“You have?” Murray asked, a fried chicken drumstick dangling from his jaw.

“Aye mate.” Benjy replied. “Ar next target is gonna be Boris Maximoff, a Polar bear from Polarstava Oblast, Russia.”

Everybody leaned in as Benjy brought up a holographic projection of Boris. He was a very imposing figure, a muscular white bear with red eyes and a completely metal right arm. Looking at the projection, flashes of memory began to flood Sandra’s mind. She could remember the bear tossing Marcus around like a rag doll, and how he had nearly torn her apart with those metal claws. She shivered involuntarily at the memories as Benjy began his explanation.

"Accordin’ ta his file, Boris was born inna de Russian mafia where he worked as an ‘enforcer’ fer years. He went solo afta awhile, makin a name fer ‘imself in de bounty huntin’ business.”

Sandra gave a nod.

“I think I’ve heard of him.” She remarked. “He’s been on Garrett’s radar even longer than we have. From what he’s told me during our… calmer moments… Boris only sees people as dollar signs.”

Carmelita let out a snarl, her grip on the handle of her shock pistol tightening.

“And I thought Harleen was bad.”

“That’s not even the worst of it.” Bentley added, looking up from his tinkering. “This guy has only been caught once, and it was by Head Inspector Garrett. He managed to escape, but at the cost of his right arm.”

“So he’s a bounty hunter, and a psychopath.” Sly remarked, a serious expression on his face. “Not a good combo.”

“No it’s not.” Benjy agreed. “And ‘e only gets more dangerous from dere. Whenevah ‘e catches a bounty, ‘e puts em up fer auction in ‘is undah ground auction house somewhere in Polarstava Oblast. Sell em te de highest biddah.”

“That’s… That’s pure evil!” Murray exclaimed.

“Like I said when we came to this time, crime got worse.” Sandra remarked.

“Well I think it’s time we shut down his operation for good.” Carmelita announced, cocking her shock pistol. “Where is this trafficker scum?”

Silence fell on the hideout as both Benjy and Bentley looked awkwardly at each other.

“Well…” Bentley explained. “We don’t really know… all we know is that his headquarter is somewhere in Polarstava Oblast. Aside from that, Boris has managed to keep nearly everyone in the dark on where his headquarters is located.”

“What about the guests for his auctions?” Sly asked. “He has to provide them with directions on how to get there.”

“True.” Benjy agreed. “So that’s where we’ll hafta start. His next auction is inna few weeks, so we best git movin’.”

“You heard the koala.” Marcus proclaimed. “Let’s get our stuff loaded and make tracks for Russia!”

…..

Russia was just as cold and unforgiving as it was in the past, if not more so. The snow came down in droves, nearly blocking out all visibility from the sky. Within hours of arriving in Russia, the two gangs had been forced to land, attaching snow tires to their respective vehicles before continuing their trek.

“How far until we reach this place, Benjy?” Sandra asked as she zipped up a thick, furry hoodie.

“It shouldn’t be much farthah, Sandy.” Benjy replied as he too bundled up for the cold.

In the Cooper Van, Carmelita was pulling a dark blue sweater on over her shirt and zipping up a thick golden coat. Sly was also bundling up, even going so far as to put on an actual pair of pants and wrapping a golden scarf around his neck. Bentley tucked a thick fleece blanket around his legs and pulled a parka around him.

“We shouldn’t be too far from the village.” The turtle commented. “A few more minutes and we should be there.”

Sure enough, Bentley’s predictions proved true. Through the thick snow, they could make out the outlines of a small town that sat right on the outskirts of what appeared to be a debunked oil rig.

“This is Polarstava Oblast?” Carmelita wondered aloud.

“Don’t let its appearance fool you.” Bentley warned her. “Boris Maximoff owns this entire region. There’s no doubt in my mind that everyone down in that village is on his payroll.”

“That makes finding a safe house a bit difficult.” Sandra told him.

“Don’t you worry.” Murray assured her. “The Murray and Marcus already have an idea of where to hide.”

“Just hang on tight.”

They sped through the snow, approaching an incredibly derelict building off the edge of the village. From the ice-coated sign, the gang could vaguely make out some Russian text.

“Богоматерь больнице Милосердия.” Benjy read in fluent Russian.

“Bogo mata wha-?” Murray asked.

“Our Lady of Mercy Hospital.” Bentley translated. “A debunked hospital, most likely from the 1950’s.”

“By now, it’s been looted for all its worth and nobody will pay it any mind, leaving it wide open for us.” Sandra smiled.

“How did you find this place, Marcus?” Sly asked

Marcus just shrugged.

“I actually paid attention in school, back when I actually attended.”

“Enough chatter.” Carmelita interjected. “We need to set up our base of operations and get this mission going.”

Sly and Sandra shared a smile.

“Looks like she’s getting into the spirit of things.” Sandra ribbed.

“Looks like. Makes me wonder how long this will last.”

Sandra just shrugged.

“Only time will tell.”

…..

After some unloading, and after rigging several space heaters in the main lobby of the hospital, the gang’s safe house was fully established. They had even dragged a few of the remaining hospital beds to use as cots. Using the lobby’s reception desk as a meeting table, Bentley spread out a map of the area.

"Alright." Bentley began. “According to this map, most of the village is dominated by the oil rig over there. From the sheer amount of security, I think it’s safe to assume that he is using the rig as his base of operations.”

Benjy looked up from his data-pad.

"I’ve been checkin’ de records, and by all accounts, no one owns it." Benjy added, “An yet, so many guards an private security officers be millin’ about onna daily basis."

"Definitely screams of a villainous lair." Sandra said, smirking at their advantage.

"Exactly, so here is the plan." Bentley began as he unhinged the lid of a red marker. "Sandra, I'm putting you in charge of getting a lay of the land, figuring out the weakness of this place. As a precaution, it would probably be best if you go alone this time around."

Sly suddenly raised his arms in protest.

“Why can’t I go with her?” he asked.

“Because there’s already a high risk of being seen with all the snow. It will be nigh impossible to hide tracks, and should anything happen, it will be easier for a single target to disappear than two.”

"Then send me!" Sly exclaimed, “Harleen nearly got her back in Shakakane, what if Boris finds her?”

"Sly, it has ta be her.” Benjy explained. “Her smaller frame allows her more maneuverability and reduces her chances a gittin’ spotted.”

“Besides… If you get caught and die or anything of that nature, Sandra AND her Cooper Gang could disappear forever and we'll be trapped here." Bentley pointed out.

“And if she does get caught, yer experience will be the key factah in getting’ her back.” Benjy concluded. "So let’s give Sandy a go then, eh?"

Sly looked at Sandra, who gave him a small nod. He didn't like it, but he'd have to live with it.

“Alright… but if there’s any trouble, you don’t hesitate to call for help.”

“Cross my heart Sly.” Sandra replied.

“Just try and keep warm, okay?” Marcus asked.

Sandra pulled her hood up over her head as she grabbed her binoc-u-cam.

“Will do. Back in a flash.”

…..

The oil facility sat in the snow patched wilderness like a sore on skin. Its large metal frame was rusted over through the years of abandonment and neglect. The chain link fence surrounding the rig was buried underneath the large piles of snow. Gargantuan pipes and turbines swayed in the stinging winds, groaning and moaning under their own weight. The sounds echoed through endless torrent of wind, providing Sandra with the perfect cover for her footfalls.

“Easy as pie.” She muttered to herself.

She crawled through the snow, swiping away swaths of it with her cane, cutting a path like an explorer through the jungle. Even over the howling winds and the foreboding groans of the oil rig, Sandra could make out the howls of timber wolves, hired guards who plagued the town like rats. They stood out like sore thumbs in the white landscape, their dark grey fur and black trench coats giving them away like neon signs.

"Stupid timber wolves." She smirked, having dealt with their kind before.

However, timber wolves were not the only guards on the prowl. Walking through the streets, armed with snow storm lanterns, were gigantic walruses. They looked fierce, from their large, sharpened tusks to their massive semi-automatic weapons.

“These guys mean business.”

As if to prove her point, one of the walruses turned towards the sound of her voice and Sandra was barely able to dive behind an oil tank to avoid being spotted. She could see the light of his lantern approaching and quickly activated her piston pole vault, sending her flying to the top of the tankard just as the walrus came looking for her.

“Too close,” she breathed.

She regained her focus as the walrus looked around the tank, not thinking to look up, much to Sandra’s relief. Eventually, the walrus just shrugged, returning to his rounds like nothing happened. Sandra remained on her perch, pulling out her binoc-u-cam so she could take a look at what was going on.

“I’ve barely been out here 10 minutes and I’ve already had more close calls than I care to mention.” She muttered.

“These security forces are much tougher than Harleen’s soldiers, and probably better trained.” Bentley told her.

“More den dat, word’s prolly gotten out dat we took down Harleen, and Boris beefed up security ta deal with us.” Benjy added.

“All this for us?” Sandra asked. “I don’t know whether to be terrified or flattered.”

Over the comm, Sandra could hear an exasperated sigh coming from Carmelita.

“I will never understand you Coopers and your definitions of achievements.”

Sandra allowed herself a tiny laugh as she focused around the oil rig.

“I’m seeing lots of different buildings, guys. I’ve got what looks like an old office, some storage houses, not to mention like seven different vents that seem to lead underground.”

“It makes sense.” Bentley told her. “Oil refineries such as this one dug far beneath the ground, and in order to successfully monitor the intake, the workers would’ve had to mine out miles of tunnels under the place itself.”

“Stands to reason that good old Boris is probably using those tunnels as his base.” Sly remarked.

“Question is, which of these buildings lead down there?” Sandra wondered.

She continued to scan the area, hoping to find even the slightest clue as to how to get below ground. However, something caught her eye as she scanned, nearly catching her off guard. Off near the edge of the rig, Sandra could barely make out what appeared to be a large black SUV. It sat just a few meters away from one of the side gates and though it was unmarked, Sandra has a sinking suspicion of who the van belonged to.

“No way…”

She stowed the binoc-u-cam and slid off the tankard, landing softly in a large pile of snow before making for the van’s location. After successfully avoiding a few more timber wolves and a pair of walruses, she found an old lamp post, which she quickly scaled. Once at the top, she produced her binoc-u-cam a second time, focusing on the van.

“What da ya see, Sandy?” Benjy asked.

The door to the van slid open and none other than Inspector Garrett Lupine came out, pulling a thick duster around him and a knit cap on over his head.

“It’s Garrett…” she whispered.

“Inspector Garrett’s here?!” Marcus exclaimed. “How did he get here so fast?!”

“He knows what our targets are.” Carmelita surmised. “He’s doing exactly what I would do. He’s setting up a sting to take us down, and most likely Boris with him.”

“Well den, ar job just gotta lot hardah.” Benjy groaned.

“You said it Benjy.” Sandra replied.

Garrett’s ears seemed to perk a bit, as if hearing something. He turned slightly, then looked straight up at the lamp post Sandra was perched on. His eyes widened and Sandra immediately knew she had been spotted.

“Oh crud. He saw me.”

Sandra stuffed her binoc-u-cam in her satchel and leapt from the lamp just as Garrett unholstered his shock pistol to pursue.

“FREEZE!!” he shouted. “You won’t escape!”

"Why is Garrett shouting like that?!" Bentley exclaimed. “He’ll give away his position!”

“He’ll give away all our positions if I don’t lose him!” Sandra frantically hissed.

The ground was swarming with guards and she knew from experience that Garrett could easily overtake her if she stayed down there, so that left her with one option. She quickly found an old rig and scaled it, climbing to the top and hiding there as Garrett came running through.

“Damnit!” he exclaimed as he realized that he had lost her.

“Phew…” Murray sighed. “That was too close.”

“I’ll say.” Bentley agreed. “Once Garrett’s gone, you best get back here to the safe house before-”

A loud chorus of howls cut off Bentley and Sandra quickly turned towards the sound. Looking down, she was horrified to see an entire pack of timber wolves stalking closer and closer to the Inspector.

"Oh no…" she hissed. “Garrett’s in trouble.”

“Sandy, stay put!” Benjy demanded. “You go down dere and you’ll be no better off!”

“But-”

“Stay put!” Benjy shouted.

Down below, Garrett let off several shots with his shock pistol, hitting quite a few timber wolves. However, where one fell, two quickly came take their place. Soon, they all pounced on Garrett. Even through the snow, Sandra could see one of the timber wolves coming away with Garrett’s shock pistol. Off to the side, two walruses came forward with a long coil of rope and a big black bag.

“No, no, no, no, no….” Sandra panicked.

Several of the timber wolves pinned Garrett into the snow, binding his wrists behind his back with the rope. He snarled and snapped at them, only to have the black bag yanked down over his face. The two walruses then took hold of his arms, dragging him kicking and screaming through the snow while a horrified Sandra watched.

"Benjy, they- they took Garrett. They- they took him!" She said, her grip on her cane so tight her knuckles turned white under her gloves. "They’ll kill him… I know they will..."

Bentley had a flashback to Egypt and how badly Sandra had taken to Slytunkhamen getting taken. If anything, this seemed to be worse than that time. Much worse. Benjy quickly took over the mic, doing his best to calm his troubled friend.

"Calm down Sandy…” He told her, doing his best to sound confident. “Garrett is a smart cookie, he'll find a way out of it."

"But what if he doesn't?" She said, looking down at the remaining timber wolves, who were in the process of returning to their posts. "What if they kill him and-"

"They won't kill him." Bentley interjected.

"How do you know?" Sandra replied, sliding down off the rig in hopes of pursuing Garrett’s captors.

"It's not his style.” Benjy replied, "He's not ah murderah, he’s ah businessman… If anything, Garrett’s prolly gonna end up in de auction comin’ up."

Sandra's eyes widened, the full scope of the situation suddenly hitting her like a ton of bricks. She felt completely and utterly helpless, her breath becoming raspy as tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

“What are we gonna do?” she asked.

Unfortunately, a timber wolf that was still working on returning to his post heard Sandra’s question and froze.

"Who’s there?!" He shouted.

Sandra’s heart skipped a beat as she dove for cover behind a stack of oil drums. Her breathing was heavy and hot, the cold causing it to billow around her head like smoke. She tried to stop freaking out, but all she saw was Garrett. She had always had a vivid imagination, and like when her gang was in danger, she was imagining the worst of all possible outcomes for Garrett. Her earpiece becoming nothing more than a blur of sound in the back of her mind.

"I know you’re there!” That same timber wolf shouted, getting ever closer to her hiding spot.

Sandra breathing stopped. She didn’t dare move, knowing even the slightest sound would give her away. However, her best efforts were for not, because at that exact moment, the timber wolf turned the corner, coming face to face with Sandra. Their eyes met and neither of them moved for a good minute or two. Eventually, the timber wolf reacted, bringing his wrist to his lips,

"We have a trespasser near the drums!” He announced.

Sandra acted on instinct, swiping her cane at the timber wolf’s head, knocking him aside. She then made a dash for safety, just as the timber wolf regained his senses.

“Requesting backup!” he shouted into his communicator before pursuing Sandra. "Stop right there!"

He raised his machine gun to eye level, looking through the scope as Sandra ran. He fired repeatedly in Sandra’s direction, the bullets spraying the snow behind her like tiny fireworks. Sandra did her best to avoid the onslaught of bullets, unfortunately as she rounded a corner, she ran right into two walruses who were coming to the timber wolf’s call for aid. They took one look at her and charged, attempting to bring their weaponized tusks down on her.

“YIPE!!” Sandra yelped as she narrowly avoided being skewered.

The walruses shouted at her in Russian, obviously wanting her to stop. When she didn’t, they readied their weapons, aiming right at her. Sandra's eyes widened and she took off as even more gun fire erupted behind her.

"GUYS!! I need help! I need help!" She screamed, her ears ringing from all the gunfire. "I can't do this anymore! I can't do this!"

…..

The doors to the hospital were flung open, blowing the map and papers all around. Everybody quickly scrambled about, snatching the papers out of the air. Marcus and Murray quickly dealt with the doors, pushing them shut with a loud slam. The wind died down again and the papers began to settle. After getting everything back in order, Carmelita looked around, a look of confusion on her face.

"Where'd Sly go?"

…..

Sandra paused for a brief moment, attempting to catch her breath. Her tiny break was quickly interrupted when she was forced to dive behind a small building to avoid getting blasted. The bullets peppered the walls, narrowly avoiding her head. The hail of bullets went on for a while, then finally stopped.

"I'm out!” the wolf cried. “Cover me!"

Sandra risked a peak from behind the building, and her eyes widened at the sight. The walruses had apparently decided that bullets weren’t doing the trick and were bringing out what appeared to be a grenade launcher. She ducked back behind the building, covering her head as she began to hyperventilate. She felt so useless, so helpless, and so alone.

"SOMEONE!" She cried out, "HELP ME!"

Sly climbed one of the pipes on a nearby oil silo, feeling them rattle as he looked down. Even from where he was, he could see the walruses loading up some grenades into their launcher. He was just in time, and couldn’t help but smirk at his luck.

"Let’s see how I can shake things up."

He reached the top, perching on the top of the silo and looking down at the timber wolf, who was still attempting to reload his weapon. He was completely unaware of the second intruder in the facility, making what Sly did next all too perfect. He got a running start, his boots pattering against the steel before leaping into the air. The timber wolf looked up and was barely able to react before Sly’s cane hooked his belt, throwing him into the air before slamming him hard against the wall.

“One down, two big ones to go.”

A loud explosion, followed by a strangled cry, drew Sly’s attention. He looked over towards where Sandra was hiding and could see that the wall of the building had been severely weakened by the blast of a grenade. Sandra was in dire need of help. He looked down at the two Walruses, and smirked.

"Must I do everything?" He asked as he reached into his jacket, pulling out two smoke pellets, "I guess so."

He snuck up behind the two walruses, making sure they were completely focused on Sandra before coming up right behind them. He threw the two pellets onto the snow-covered ground, where they promptly exploded into blue gas.

The walruses were completely incapacitated by the smoke, a fact Sly used to his full advantage. Pulling his scarf up over his nose, he slipped behind one, his quick little fingers undoing the latch that held the belt of grenades. With a quick snatch, the weapons were his. He managed to do the same to the other one and dive for cover just as the smoke cleared.

The walruses quickly noticed their lack of grenades, shouting at each other in Russian, most likely demanding to know where they were. Sly then emerged from his hiding spot, perching on a nearby lamp post, then whistled loudly.

"Hey guys!" He cried.

The two looked up, the flabs of fat over their eyes raising in surprise at the sight. Sly stood tall on the lamp post, the two belts of grenades hanging in his hands. He yanked the pins and tossed them at the walruses.

"Bombs away!"

The two walruses looked at each other and dove. The grenades fell and the explosion rocked the facility. They were a bit stunned by the blast, but still standing. That is, until Sly landed on one.

“I thought you guys would’ve gotten the memo by now.” He said with a disappointed shake of his head.

The walrus he wasn’t standing on turned to him in anger, leaping into the air to grab him. Sly flipped backwards as his opponent belly flopped onto his unconscious partner. Sly smiled before flipping up onto a cat walk that was hanging above the two. He swiped his cane at a set of broken screws, snapping then and sending a large section crashing down on top of the two. As the dust and snow settled and Sly repositioned himself on the lamp post, he could see the walruses were not getting up anytime soon.

“Nobody messes with the Cooper Clan.” He declared with a smile and a nod.

With his job finally done, Sly ran across the snow towards Sandra. She was still huddled behind the wall, breathing heavily. Sly approached her slowly, crouching down next to her.

“Hey… you okay?”

Sandra just shook her head, tears pouring from her eyes.

“Garrett got snatched, and it’s like I’m a rookie thief again.” She sobbed. “I choked. I completely and utterly choked.”

Sly wrapped an arm around her, and for some reason, an old lullaby his mother use to sing to him came to mind. He began humming slightly, then slowly started to sing.

“ _Hush little Cooper, don't make a sound._

_And don't ever let your feet touch the ground._

_And keep your cane with you at all times._

_It’s how our family commits our crimes.”_

It was a song Sandra had heard when she was very little. Her parents use to sing it to her, and hearing Sly’s voice made her think of her father, and how he would hold her when she was upset and sing this song to calm her down. Her sobs slowly ebbed away as Sly continued his singing.

“ _But always remember the Golden Rule:_

 _Stealing from good guys is just not cool_.”

Sandra couldn’t help but snort at that last rhyme, her mood slowly lifting. She even found herself slightly singing along.

“ _We may be thieves, but we have hearts of gold._

_A trait that dates back to the Coopers of old_

_We're the Cooper Clan, and it's in our blood_

_To take what we want then run, run, run.”_

Sandra felt loads better, and she quickly wiped the remaining tears from her eyes.

“Thanks Sly.” She told him

“You good now?” he asked.

She gave a nod, picking up her cane.

“I’m good.”

“Excellent.” Bentley replied from the comm. “While Sly dealt with your attackers, I was able to follow the two walruses holding Garrett with my RC Chopper.”

Sandra’s eyes widened.

“You were?” she asked.

“Eyup.” Benjy replied. “Dem walruses ar’ takin’ ‘im towards dat office buildin’ ya saw earlier. My guess is dat dere be where Boris’ office is…”

“Thanks guys.” She told them, then she turned to Sly. “Let’s go.”

The two Coopers took off for the office building, making it there with seconds to spare. There was an open air vent near the top of the building, a perfect entrance for a thief.

“You go, Sandra.” Sly told her. “Garrett’s your officer.”

Sandra smiled, then Sly gave her a boost, allowing her to hook onto the vent and crawl inside.

…..

Garrett couldn't see anything through the thick black bag that had been yanked down over his face. His arms ached from not only the tightness of the ropes, but from the constant yanking of the two walrus goons currently dragging him through the snow. When they finally stopped, he heard the sound of rusty hinges, and then he was dragged out of the snow and onto what felt like a Persian rug. He was forced to his knees before the sack was yanked from his head, the sudden onslaught of light nearly blinding the wolf. As his vision cleared, he could see that he was in some sort of office, and judging from the expensive refinery, there was only one person in Russia it could belong to.

Behind the large, ornate desk, a large leather chair slowly spun around, revealing Boris Maximoff in all his terrifying glory.

"Mr. Garrett, it is so good to finally see you in person once more." Boris said, sipping a glass of wine. "How long has it been? A few years, most certainly."

Garrett snarled at the bear, not even bothering to hide his contempt.

"Three years, Boris…" he replied. “Three years since you hacked off your own arm to escape my custody.”

"Yes!" he exclaimed, clearly faking his happiness. "Three years since I escaped your _putska_ of a prison. Three years since I made a fool out of the supposedly ‘Legendary INTERPOL Inspector’, Garrett Lupine.”

He gently placed the fine glass down onto the desk before standing up and walking towards Garrett. His metal claw grabbed Garrett’s face, forcing him to look up at him.

"So Garrett, did you ever think you'd be here? Bowing to me, like you rightfully should."

Garrett did his best to turn away, but was thwarted by the claws.

“Honestly, I thought one of your competitors would have done away with you by now.” He taunted.

This earned him a punch from Boris, one that knocked the inspector off his knees and to the ground. However, Garrett just chuckled as he spat once, blood lacing his saliva.

"Enjoy this while it lasts,” he threatened. “Because you're gonna be back behind bars before the end of the week."

Far above Boris’ desk, in the small air vent barely big enough to crawl through, Sandra watched the entire conversation. She was desperate to do something, but at the moment, she had to focus on the job at hand. She used her Binoc-u-cam to snap pictures of Boris for the two genii, as well as a few of Garrett for good measure.

“Hang in there, Garrett.” She thought to herself. “I’ll get you out of here.”

Boris looked down at Garrett, his stoic expression as cold as the snow that fell outside. He then walked back over to his desk, taking the bottle of wine and pouring himself a second glass.

"I am glad you think that, inspector.” He told him, “It is always fun to watch that last spark of hope die in the eyes of those who come into my….. Care.”

He sipped the wine as the walruses pulled Garrett back to his knees.

“I like to watch the realization sink in, that hopelessness that overtakes them when they finally know they are not leaving here on your own terms.”

Garrett registered what Boris meant and quickly began to struggle against the walruses. Boris laughed at this, relishing in Garrett’s pain.

“You lost the moment my men nabbed you. You’ll never leave this place again, save for when your new owner comes to claim you.”

Garrett continued to struggle, meeting Boris dead in the eye.

“You think you can scare me?” Garrett snapped. “You will go down, if not by INTERPOL, then by someone else’s hand.”

Boris leaned against the wall, his head mere inches from the vent where Sandra was hidden. He had this smile on his face, the smile of someone who had an ace up their sleeve.

"You still have that naïve notion that you still have even the slightest control here.” He said, before scoffing. "I would call it foolish pride, but even I would feel comfortable when I had friends watching over me."

Sandra suddenly froze, a sinking feeling bubbling in the pit of her stomach. Suddenly Boris grabbed the vent and with a swift motion, forced the vent from the wall, revealing the red raccoon. Before she even had a chance to react, Boris’ metal claw grabbed her by her face, pulling her free of the vent.

"Sandra!" Garrett exclaimed, completely caught off guard by her presence in the vent.

Boris threw her hard, smashing her through his thick wooden desk. She groaned, just barely conscious. Boris then bent down, scooping up Sandra’s binoc-u-cam. He aimed it right at himself and gave a small wave.

“ _Do Svidaniya_ Cooper gang.”

He turned the camera towards Sandra’s barely conscious form before crushing the device in his metal claws. Garrett was now fighting with every ounce of strength he could muster.

“Let her go!!” Garrett demanded.

One of the walruses produced a wad of cloth, shoving it over Garrett's snout. As the sleeping gas on the rag took its effect, his struggles became less and less violent. Until he finally passed out. Boris just smirked, then gestured towards an elevator off to the side.

"Lock Mr. Garrett in one of our high security cells.” He ordered. “We don’t want him breaking out before his debut.”

One of the walruses started speaking in Russian, pointing to Sandra, who was slowly starting to come around.

“Cooper?” Boris asked. “Throw her in with my private collection. I know of a certain bird who will pay quite handsomely for her."

Sandra’s head was spinning and her entire body felt like lead. However, she gripped her cane and fought through the pain. Out of the corner of her eye, she could make out a window within easy diving distance. It was possibly her only escape. Garrett would have to wait.

Sandra threw herself forward, aiming right for the window. Her actions caught the walruses, and Boris off-guard and by the time they reacted, she had smashed through the glass and was falling down towards the snowy ground. She could hear Boris' angry snarls as she landed.

“Sandra!” Sly shouted, running towards where she had fallen.

Sandra was slowly losing the battle for consciousness. With no time to lose, and no time for a better plan, Sly grabbed her and threw her onto his back. Holding her cane in one hand and his in his teeth, Sly ran, not stopping until he made it to the safe house.


	12. On Thin Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Sandra down for the count, and Inspector Lupine captured, taking down Boris just became that much harder. However, the mission must go on if the Cooper Gangs are to save the Inspector and stop this mad bear.

Sly got Sandra back to the safe house as quickly as he could, kicking the doors of the hospital open.

“BENTLEY!!” He screamed.

The turtle rolled over to the two raccoons, quickly looking Sandra up and down. She was barely conscious, shivering from the cold, and her face was redder than normal. Everybody else gathered around, all of their faces etched with worry.

“Get her onto one of the cots and out of those wet clothes.” Bentley told him. “Carmelita, you go and find as many blankets as you can. Marcus, Murray, you two get at least two of those space heaters on her. Benjy, find me some diphenhydramine and some pseudoephedrine.”

Everyone quickly scattered, eager to help Sandra. Sly got her onto a cot, pulling her wet coat off of her, as well as her shoes and socks.  Marcus and Murray grabbed two of the space heaters and aimed them directly at Sandra as Carmelita arrived with an armful of blankets. Everyone grabbed one, draping them over Sandra. Her shivering was slowly beginning to die down as Benjy returned with the two medicines.

“Luckily, dis place still had some.” He said to himself. “De looters didn’t git it all.”

Bentley nodded, then took the two medicines. He crushed up the pills and mixed them into a glass of water, rolling over to Sandra.

“Sly, lift her head.”

He did so and Bentley slowly poured the medicine into her mouth. She drank it quickly, then finally lost the battle with consciousness. Her eyes fluttered shut and Sly set her back down.

“She gonna be alright?” Carmelita asked as she tucked the blankets around Sandra.

“The combination of the cold, stress, the beating from Boris, and jumping out that window took its toll.” Bentley explained. “She needs to rest for a bit, and stay warm.”

Sly looked down at Sandra, gently caressing her hair.

“Don’t worry Sandra.” He whispered. “You just rest. We’ll save Garrett for you.”

Carmelita also looked down at Sandra, thinking back to how Sandra had been running from Inspector Garrett one minute, then scared for his life the next. Was that how Sly was with her? She had remembered many instances where he had run from her, and many more where he had come to her rescue.

She found herself snorting slightly. Sandra truly was Sly’s descendant.

The gang left Sandra alone to sleep, returning to the job at hand. Though Boris had destroyed Sandra’s binoc-u-cam, Bentley and Benjy had managed to download the photos and footage before he crushed it.

“Alright guys.” Bentley began. “I don’t think I need to tell you that this job isn’t gonna be easy. We’ve got highly trained, and extremely vigilant guards patrolling the area, we’ve lost the element of surprise, and on top of taking down Boris, we’re also gonna need to rescue Garrett BEFORE the auction.”

“Before we do anything, we’re gonna need a copy of da guest list fer de auction.” Benjy explained. “Te git it, Bentley and I are gonna need ta hack inna Boris’ CCU. While goin’ ovah de footage, we spotted it right inna middle of de oil rig.”

“It’s under heavy guard, and even with my bombs, Benjy and I won’t stand a chance. So that means Marcus, you and Murray will have to clear the way for us. That will give us access to the CCU, where we can find all the information we need.”

Murray punched his palm, looking at Marcus with a smile.

“Just leave it to us Bentley.” Murray declared.

Marcus also smiled, cracking his knuckles.

“We’ll have those timber wolves howling for mercy and those walruses blubbering uncle when we’re done with them.”

“We’ll need someone on de inside ta help us figure out de layout of de area. Boris knows ar’ faces well, so dat leaves de New Cooper Gang out. If he saw Sly, den odds are he’ll know about Bentley and Murray.”

“That leaves me then.” Carmelita surmised.

“Yep.” Bentley replied. “Out of all of us, you’ll be the last person he’ll think to be looking for.”

“Once yer in, you’ll hafta get the layout of wherevah it is Boris is keepin’ Garrett, as well as de best way ta git ta him and what we’ll need ta do it.”

“Well then, there’s no time to lose.” Sly announced. “Marcus, Murray, make us proud.”

The two muscles of the group stood up and quickly made their way out of the hideout.

…..

The two of them trekked through the snow, making a beeline for the large metal tower just visible through the ever falling snow. Murray held an arm in front of his face to try and block out the wind.

“Man,” he groaned. “I don’t remember the snow ever being this bad. And I’ve been in the Ice Age!”

“Severe climate change.” Marcus replied. “At least, that’s what Benjy’s always saying. Don’t tell him, but sometimes I can only make out a fraction of what he’s saying.”

Murray smiled widely.

“It’s the same with me and Bentley! I sometimes fall asleep during his slide shows.”

They continued their idle conversation as they walked deeper and deeper into the compound. Since neither of them were exactly masters of stealth, the timber wolves and Walruses quickly caught on to their activities.

“Freeze!” Shouted one of the wolves as they pointed their rifles at them.

Marcus and Murray stopped for a moment, meeting the gaze of the oncoming enemies. They shared a smirk as Murray let out a shout.

“No thanks!” Murray called out, “I like being warm.”

Marcus quickly covered his snout with his claw, attempting not to laugh by stifling his giggle. The timber wolf snarled as he looked down at them.

“What’s your business here?” The wolf asked, his eye already staring down the scope of the rifle.

“We’re here to pound your skulls in for hurting our friend!” Murray exclaimed, pounding his palm with his fist.

“Nobody hurts Sandra and gets away with it!” Marcus added.

The two charged forward with their fists and claws raised. The wolves howled, aiming their weapon directly at the two massive opponents. Many bullets grazed the two, but they were undeterred. They swiped the guns from the hands of their opponents, bending them like they were made of putty. The wolves whimpered in fear, and their wines were quickly turned to groans of pain as the brawns of the Cooper Gangs made short work of their ranks.

“You fight awesome, Marcus!” Murray praised, raising his fist for a fist bump.

“Same to you, Murray.” Marcus replied, returning the fist bump.

Approaching the CCU tower, the two of them could see many more thugs guarding the thing. More than that, there also seemed to be an electrical fence running around them.

“Damn.” Marcus snarled. “The tower’s protected.”

“Yeah.” Murray agreed. “And those thugs are all hiding behind the fence!”

Their earpieces squawked as Bentley came on the line.

“I guess Boris must have gotten word of our escapades in South Africa with Harleen.” He surmised. “If we’re gonna get to that tower, the fence needs to come down.”

“Ya boys see dat control room up ta ya left?” Benjy asked.

Marcus and Murray both looked up at the control room. They could see a few silhouettes of guards milling about inside. The two of them shared a glance and smiled.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Marcus asked.

“Oh yeah!!” Murray exclaimed. “Time to break some stuff!”

Without another word, they jogged towards the control room, taking the stairs about two at a time. When they reached the door, Marcus flexed his claws and shoved them deep in the metal. With a powerful swipe, he took out the hinges and yanked the door free of the frame.

“Special delivery!” Marcus shouted.

“Who ordered the knuckle sandwich?!” Murray exclaimed.

The wolves and walruses all jumped in surprised, aiming their weapons. Unfortunately, they were a second too late. Marcus brought the door up as a shield, the bullets ricocheting off the metal and shattering the surrounding glass. Once the hail of bullets ceased, Marcus heaved the door at the thugs, knocking many of them out the now broken windows.

Those that didn’t fall to the floor found themselves hoisted into the air by Murray.

“Hey Bentley!” he called. “What should I smash first?”

Back in the safe house, Bentley couldn’t help but smile. Murray was gonna have a field day with this mission.

“Everything.”

Murray grinned widely, bringing his captured wolf down hard on the console. Marcus joined in, grabbing a walrus by his tail fin and using him as a bat. Sparks flew as bits of machinery went everywhere. Within a few minutes, there wasn’t a single piece of functional equipment in the control room.

“That felt great!” Murray screamed.

Marcus peered through the broken window at the remaining guards. The timber wolves were surrounding the control room like their savage ancestors.

“It ain’t over yet.” Marcus replied. “Got energy left for one more fight?”

“The Murray has more energy than the Energizer Bunny!”

Marcus raised an eyebrow, not getting the outdated reference. Luckily, he understood the basis of what Murray was saying.

“Then let’s go kick some tail.”

They jumped out the broken windows, Murray thunder flopping on a group of hapless thugs while Marcus pounced on them with his lethal claws. The timber wolves abandoned their guns, realizing the ineffectiveness of the firearms, and resorted to more hands on methods for fighting these two. The wolves launched themselves forward, sinking their teeth into the arms, shoulders, and legs of both Marcus and Murray, only to be violently thrown aside by their unrivaled strength.

The walruses came in to try and aid their comrades. They took a page out of Murray’s book, flopping down upon the two using their massive size to aid them. While it did knock them down, it didn’t stop them. If anything, the walruses only succeeded in angering Murray.

“Hey!” he hollered. “They stole my move!”

Marcus could sense the anger rising in the hippo and took a step back. Murray clapped his hands together. His gloves seemed to burst into flames, much to the terror of the walruses.

“Eat fire fists you move stealing walruses!!”

Before the two unfortunate mammals could react, two flaming gloves began to pound their faces in. Marcus watched, whistling in appreciation.

“Glad that he’s on my side.”

Marcus turned his attention back to the battle, grabbing a walrus and using them as a weapon. With Murray’s Fire Fists and Marcus’ Walrus Slam, the remaining goons were reduced to moaning piles of unconscious bodies.

“This tower belongs to the Cooper Gangs!” Murray declared, beating his chest proudly.

“The way’s clear guys!” Marcus called, two fingers on his comm link. “Benjy, Bentley, you’re up.”

…..

Bentley’s wheelchair tore through the snow as his boosters carried him towards the CCU tower. Benjy clung to the side of the chair, unable to walk in the snow since it completely engulfed him.

“Dis chair a yers really is somin’ else.” Benjy complimented.

“It’s got to be.” Bentley replied. “I’m not gonna let something like full lower body paralysis keep me from helping my friends.”

“Well, have you thought about prosthetics?” The koala asked. “In dis time, we got doctahs dat cin fix ya up and have ya walkin’ like nevah before.”

“It’s a nice thought, but I can't exactly go to the nearest doctor and tell them ‘hey I lost my legs a hundred and twenty years ago. Can you please fix them?’”

Benjy shrugged realizing that there was indeed a flaw to his plan.

“It was worth a shot.” Benjy replied.

Without another word, the two made their way up to the CCU tower, Bentley hitting his boosters to send them to the top. There was a platform for them to land on, right in front of the terminal.

“Ready Benjy?”

“Ready Bentley.”

The two dove into the system hacking away at Boris’s security. It was not as sophisticated as Harleen’s, but it was still pretty tight. The two avatars began blasting away at the firewalls reducing them to little more than ones and zeros. A few Trojans attempted to halt their process, but a combination of Bentley’s blasts and Benjy’s moves had them swimming with the proverbial fishes. Unfortunately, where one fell, two came to take their place.

“This ain't gonna be easy.” Benjy quipped.

“But we gotta try.” Bentley replied.

They continue their efforts to take down the security and begin to slowly make their way towards the mainframe of the computer system. It was getting a little bit difficult and they found themselves back to back on multiple occasions. However with a little teamwork they managed to get themselves out of the line of fire before they were reduced to little more than code. Unfortunately, they quickly ran into a snag.

“Looks like Boris set up an elaborate password system.” Bentley examined.

“What ar we gonna do?” Benjy asked.

“What do you think?” Bentley replied, cracking his knuckles. “We're gonna crack his passcode.”

It didn't take long to crack the passcode, which turned out to be #1RussianStud, a fact that got the two genii laughing.

“That's even worse than Sandra's password.” Bentley chuckled.

After stifling that after the two continued their search and eventually found what they were looking for. They managed to get a copy of the invitation to Boris’s auction, as well as a list of all of those attending this ‘prestigious event.’

“We good Benjy?”

“Yeah we're good Bentley.”

“Then let's get out of here. I don't want to be out in this cold any longer than I have to be. I can already feel this snow seeping into my shell.”

With their job done Marcus and Murray scooped up the two genii, making their way back to The Hideout.

…..

Once they were back within the safe walls of the hospital, Benjy got to work examining the guest list trying to figure out who would be the best to impersonate. Bentley went to go and check on Sandra, who was still unconscious. Thankfully the red raccoon was starting to look a lot better and her fever has died down considerably.

“How's she doing?” Sly asked, approaching the turtle.

“Better than she was before.” Bentley replied. “With any luck, she’ll wake up soon.”

Carmelita approached slowly, looking down at Sandra with a mixture of relief and care.

“That's good to hear.” Carmelita chimed in.

As she looked down at Sandra, she felt a strange attachment to the red raccoon. If she had to put it in words, she would describe it as almost motherly. Something inside her wanted to pick her up and hold her until everything went away.

Carmelita looked up, catching Sly’s eye. He was surprised by the amount of worry in the ringtail’s face, but was even more thrown by the amount of self-loathing she saw. It was a look she knew all too well, having worn it just about every time Sly slipped through her grasp back before they became- whatever it was that they were.

“She’ll pull through, Sly.” She told him, gently taking and squeezing his paw.

“I should have gone in there with her.” he replied. “I should have gone in with her, and pulled her out of there before Boris could grab her.”

Bentley looked up at his friend, shaking his head.

“You know as well as I do that even if you had followed her, the result would be the same.”

Sly still wasn’t swayed. All he could see was Sandra cowering in fear behind that small building, and her beaten form sprawled in the snow.

“She was too close to this.” he muttered. “She wasn’t thinking straight, and she didn’t get out of there when she should have.”

Bentley snorted.

“Like you haven’t done something like that before.”

Sly looked over at Bentley as the turtle began counting on his fingers.

“The Krack-Karov Volcano, Prague, Arpeggio’s airship, Kaine Island, and don’t even get me started on Le Paradox.”

Carmelita took Sly’s shoulder.

“Face it Sly,” she told him. “She’s your descendant through and through. When someone she cares about is in danger, most rational thought goes out the window.”

“And your worrying about her is only proving my point.” Bentley added.

Sly had to admit, they had a point. And he also had to admit that Sandra was a Cooper, and she would pull through.

“You’re right.” he said after a minute. “Besides, I’m not gonna be much use to anyone if I mope about here, now am I?”

Carmelita smiled, happy to have pulled Sly out of his funk.

“Oi mates!” Benjy called out, drawing everyone’s attention. “Ya might wanna take ah gander at dis.”

Turning away from Sandra, the group gathered around Benjy and his terminal.

“I’ve bin going through de list, an’ I ain’t likin’ wha I’m seein’.” he explained. “Lots o’ nasty blighters bin invited te de auction, and all of dem hava beef aginst ar good friend Garrett.”

He brought up several different files on many different criminals. Even if the names did not ring any bells to the original Cooper Gang, the rap sheets spoke volumes. Each criminal had a list of offenses that would get them locked away for life, ranging from smuggling, to armed theft, and even murder and kidnapping.

“Sandra wasn’t kidding when she said crime got worse with time.” Sly remarked. “With these many criminals free, it’s as if INTERPOL isn’t even trying to catch them.”

Carmelita’s fist clenched, her knuckles cracking audibly at the thought.

“Doesn’t matter what INTERPOL is or isn’t doing.” Marcus interjected. “What matters is what we’re gonna do.”

“Right.” Benjy agreed. “Luckily, I found de perfect disguise fer Carmelita amongst de guests.”

He brought of a single file, making it full screen. It displayed a picture of a beautiful grey fox. She was dressed in a black martial artists outfit with dark grey boots and gloves. In her hand, she held a porcelain mask that seemed to fit perfectly over her face. She had long, straight black hair that was tied up in a bun.

“Dis here be Kitagawa Moa, bettah known as Kitsune.”

Skimming through the file, Sly let out a whistle.

“Master martial artist, skilled spy and assassin, wanted practically all over. Sounds dangerous.”

“She is, Sly.” Bentley replied. “According to this, she was sent after Garrett a few years ago. He managed to escape her and even got her arrested.”

“I remember that!” Marcus exclaimed. “We were stealing the Japanese Emperor Robes from the Palace Museum.”

“Aye.” Benjy agreed. “Sandy and Garrett’s first team up. Apparently, Kitsune’s harbored a grudge against de two of dem since.”

“Makes sense.” Murray nodded. “If someone made a fool out of 'The Murray’, I would not stop until they felt my righteous fury!”

“An apt description, Murray.” Benjy agreed. “Cause dat’s exactly what she swore ta do afta escapin’ from de slammah.”

Carmelita examined the picture closely. She and Kitsune were similar in height and build, and with the mask, covering up her red fur shouldn’t be a problem.

“It may take me a moment to make a convincing Japanese accent, but I think I can pull it off.” She promised.

Bentley grinned, then pulled up the map of the area.

“According to the invitation, the guests will be landing in a small airfield not far from here. If we can intercept Kitsune before Boris’ goons get to her, then we can have Carmelita take her place. I’ll hack into the air tower’s communication feed and have Kitsune land on the helipad on the outskirts of town. We’ll have to incapacitate her so she doesn’t interfere with our plans.”

“Leave that to me.” Carmelita promised. “I’ve got her.”

Pulling her woolen cap over her ears, Carmelita made her way out into the snow.

…..

Carmelita hid in the musty hanger bay, watching as Kitsune’s helicopter descended from the sky. Through her binoc-u-cam, she could make out the single pilot, plus the copter’s two passengers. When the door opened, Kitsune stepped out, wearing what looked like an expensive Japanese overcoat. Following behind her was a tanuki in a tuxedo.

“Bentley, you never mentioned Kitsune had a date.” Carmelita hissed.

“Gimme a sec.” The turtle replied.

The binoc-u-cam focused on the tanuki as a facial recognition software was activated.

“It would seem that her plus one is Kitagawa Kado, her husband, and leader of the Yakuza of this time period.”

“E’s about as bad as ‘is wife.” Benjy added. “And if ‘e’s ‘ere, den were in deep Barney.”

“Guess you’ll be needing me after all Carmelita.” Sly playfully interjected. “I’ll have to dust off my tux though. We haven’t had a date since my Constable Cooper days.”

“Just get down here, Ringtail.” She told him.

Sly chuckled a bit, then Carmelita returned her attention to Kitsune. Priming her shock pistol, Carmelita emerged from her hiding spot, taking a shot that knocked Kado off his feet and into the snow.

“Hold it right there!” she ordered. “Make a single move and I’ll shoot.”

Kitsune stopped walking, giving her husband a glance. Her brow furrowed as she slowly raised her hands above her head. Carmelita stepped forward, but remained wary. She couldn’t afford any mistakes.

“Do you have anyone you love?” Kitsune questioned, her voice even and yet filled with malice. “A husband… Fiancé… Lover maybe?”

Carmelita’s brain went straight to Sly, but she forced the images down, keeping her focus on Kitsune and getting a set of cuffs on her.

“Because if you do, I will find them. And I will kill them. slowly.” Kitsune promised. “And I’ll make you watch.”

Carmelita’s teeth clenched, a sound that didn’t go unnoticed by Kitsune. She gave off a chuckle as the Interpol officer took hold of her wrist in order to cuff her. No sooner had her hand touched the other fox, Kitsune was a blur of motion. She grabbed Carmelita, twisted her arm and threw the cop over her shoulder, where she landed in the snow drift. Carmelita gasped in surprised, then quickly rolled out of the way of an attempted jab at her face. Though she missed, Kitsune was able to get ahold of her shock pistol. The silver fox smirked at this, then tossed it into the snow behind her. She then allowed her coat to slide off, revealing a skin tight black suit underneath.

“You’re good.” Kitsune admitted, sliding her mask onto her face. “I’m going to enjoy ripping you apart.”

“Good luck with that, puta.” Carmelita spat.

Kitsune launched at Carmelita, tackling her into the snow. The two wrestle for a bit before Kitsune kicked Carmelita off. Carmelita rolled in the snow a bit as Kitsune launched at her again. Carmelita saw this and double kicked her in the chest. The silver fox recovered quickly, holding her stomach.

“You’ll pay for that.”

“Then come and get me.”

Kitsune then ran at Carmelita, continually trying to punch her. However, Carmelita was able to avoid and block all the attacks. Unfortunately, this left her with little chance to deliver her own strikes. Kitsune then kicked Carmelita in the chest, sending her into the snow. As she started getting up, Carmelita saw her stun gun laying there. Thinking fast, Carmelita grabbed the gun and fired it at Kitsune. Kitsune quickly dodged the shot and brought her foot up, kicking the gun away. Before Carmelita could attempt to recover it, that same foot came down hard on her chest, pinning her in the snow.

“Pathetic.” Kitsune taunted. “Perhaps I gave you too much credit before. I didn’t even break a sweat.”

There was a polite cough behind Kitsune, drawing her attention. She turned around to see Sly Cooper standing behind her. Two seconds later, she saw the curved end of his cane connect with the side of her face. She crumbled to the ground, the porcelain mask now dangling from the hook of his cane.

“You’re late.” Carmelita said in a joking manner.

Sly offered her his hand and helped her to her feet.

“I couldn’t find my tux.” he replied.

The two looked down at the unconscious criminals, smiling to each other.

…..

Sly and Carmelita left a tied up Kitsune and Kado inside one of the many storage rooms inside the hanger. They were left in their underwear, Sly and Carmelita now wearing their clothes. Carmelita slid the porcelain mask on over her face.

“You sure those two will be alright?” Sly asked.

“So long as they don’t try to bust out of that storage room, the space heaters will keep them from getting frostbite.” Carmelita replied.

Sly chuckled at that, then Bentley and Benjy came onto the comm links.

“Focus you two.” Bentley ordered. “It’s critical that Boris doesn’t suspect a thing when you guys show up. Otherwise, we won’t be able to get a peak under the hood of this operation.”

“I was wondering about that, Bentley.” Carmelita commented. “How are we going to be able to gather recon photos with Boris right by our side.”

“I thoughta tha’.” Benjy interjected. “Sly, give yer lady friend da thing I gave ya bifore ya left.”

Sly fished into his pocket, pulling out a broach. He slid it onto Carmelita’s lapel, then added a similar looking on onto his own.

“These spy cams will allow us to see and hear everything you do without having to risk him seeing the binoc-u-cams.” Bentley explained.

“Just be careful ya don’t make a big ah lookin’ about.” Benjy warned “Ye might git Boris on yer tails.”

“Got it, we’ll be careful.” Sly promised.

The two straightened their coats, then they began their walk towards the oil rig. Through the snow, they could see several of the other guests for the auction gathering up.

“So many criminals...” Carmelita whispered.

“Haven’t seen this big of a gathering since Rajan’s ball.” Sly commented.

“Ah Kitsune!” Boris’ booming voice shouted out.

Carmelita stiffened a bit, her hand instinctively going for her belt where her shock pistol usually was. Unfortunately, she’d never recovered it from the snow, so she was currently defenseless.

“I was afraid you had gotten lost!” Boris exclaimed, walking over to the masked fox.

“Reception in this hole is lousy.” Sly explained, trying to make himself sound as much like Rioichi Cooper as he could. “We landed on an air strip on the other side of this blasted storm.”

“Oh, my apologies.” Boris said, clapping the raccoon on the shoulder. “I will be sure to have words with men in radio tower. This problem not happen again. Swear it.”

Both Sly and Carmelita had a pretty good idea what Boris meant when he said he’d have words, but they both remained in character.

“See that you do.” Carmelita replied, mimicking Kitsune’s arrogant tone.]

Boris laughed, then turned towards the rest of the group.

“Now that everyone is here, we start tour!”

He led everybody inside of one of the large storage rooms on the oil rig. Two walrus guards held the doors open, no doubt the security for the main entrance. Inside, the entire storage room was lined on two separate walls with makeshift cells. These cells seemed to be made out of chain-link fencing, each of them containing a prisoner. Both Sly and Carmelita were disgusted by the sight, their knuckles turning white as they gripped each other.

“As you can see, I have many wares for sale this time.” Boris exclaimed, gesturing to many of the frightened prisoners.

As he droned on about his various charges, Carmelita and Sly took the opportunity to look around. Making it look like they were merely taking a closer look at the cages, the two began examining the cells, searching for a way to get into them. Unfortunately, even though they were makeshift, they were very well put together, leaving little to no chance of escape. More than that, each prisoner seemed to be locked in their cell by a shackle around their ankle.

“God… This is awful...” Bentley gasped.

“Reminds me of Prague.” Sly whispered.

Carmelita shivered at the memories, clinging tightly to Sly’s arm. He gently placed his arm around her, then they both continued deeper into the building.

“Of course, you all know about wares currently on display.” Boris said, drawing Carmelita and Sly’s attention once more. “But you don’t know about last minute addition.”

The other guests seemed to murmur to themselves in confusion and curiosity. Sly and Carmelita now gave Boris their undivided attention.

“That’s right ladies and gentlemen.” Boris continued. “I have special surprise for everyone. Follow me.”

He began walking deeper into the warehouse as Sly and Carmelita made their way to the front of the group. Boris led them to what appeared to be an old closet. The door was reinforced with steel though, and had at least five locks on it. No doubt a maximum security cell. Boris unlocked the five locks, then gave a cruel grin.

“May I present...” he threw the door open. “Inspector Garrett Lupine!”

Everybody gasped in surprise and amazement, which aided in masking the gasps of horror that came from Carmelita and Sly. The Interpol officer looked horrible. His suit was torn, one of his eyes was swollen shut, and he was dangling from the wall by a pair of shackles.

“That’s right folks, Boris has everyone’s most hated Interpol officer on the block!” The bear cheered. “Say hello Inspector.”

Garrett lifted his head, giving Boris a hard stare.

“When I get out of this, I’m going to make the russian gulag look like paradise.”

“Empty promises from a broken cop.” Boris chuckled.

“It’s a promise alright, but it is far from empty.”

Boris laughed, then slammed the door shut, locking it once more.

“Well that ends tour.” Boris declared. “Now, is time to retire to rooms. I’m sure you all know drill by now. All guests under guard to ensure no early try at merchandise.”

Both Sly and Carmelita gulped. Neither of them had even thought that Boris may have had his guests guarded. Now they couldn’t get back to the group without raising suspicion. As they followed Boris towards where the guests were kept, Bentley’s voice crackled over the comms.

“This mission just got a whole lot harder.”


End file.
